Reliance Jio delivered the fastest mobile download speeds across Shimla, Solan and the Solan–Shimla highway, while Airtel generally ranked second, according to drive test conducted by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
TRAI’s agency evaluated Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea networks in the Himachal Pradesh Licensed Service Area from June 15 to June 19, 2026.
The assessment covered 384.8 km of city roads, 35.9 km of highways, 12 hotspot locations, 4.9 km of walk tests and inter-operator calling at one location. Voice services were tested in automatic 5G, 4G, 3G and 2G selection mode.
Jio records 163.01 Mbps download speed in Shimla
Reliance Jio has achieved the fastest download speed in Shimla and nearby areas at 163.01 Mbps on 5G. Airtel’s 5G network delivered 83.09 Mbps, while BSNL and Vodafone Idea recorded substantially lower 4G speeds of 10.99 Mbps and 10.30 Mbps, respectively.
Jio also led upload performance with an average speed of 15.43 Mbps. Airtel followed at 13.90 Mbps, ahead of BSNL at 4.81 Mbps and Vodafone Idea at 3.32 Mbps.
Jio had 2,118 poor-signal samples out of 45,696 samples collected, representing a coverage-gap rate of approximately 4.63 percent. Airtel recorded 3,553 poor-signal samples out of 45,850, or about 7.75 percent.
BSNL had 7,735 poor-signal samples out of 43,507, equivalent to around 17.78 percent. Vodafone Idea reported the highest coverage gap, with 10,778 poor-signal samples out of 43,236, or approximately 24.93 percent.
Airtel and Jio report lowest call-drop rates in Shimla
Airtel recorded one dropped call out of 411 successfully established calls in Shimla, translating into a call-drop rate of around 0.24 percent. Jio also recorded one dropped call from 418 successful calls, or about 0.24 percent.
Vodafone Idea had 20 dropped calls out of 387 successful calls, representing approximately 5.17 percent. BSNL registered 47 dropped calls from 389 successfully established calls, producing the highest rate at around 12.08 percent.
Jio delivered the strongest call-audio performance, with 11 silence instances lasting more than three seconds among 400 established calls, or 2.75 percent.
Airtel recorded 35 silence instances from 396 calls, or 8.84 percent. Vodafone Idea had 41 instances from 359 calls, equivalent to 11.42 percent, while BSNL recorded 50 instances among 326 calls, or 15.34 percent.
Jio reaches 208.71 Mbps in Solan
Reliance Jio again topped the Solan download-speed assessment, delivering an average 5G speed of 208.71 Mbps. Airtel achieved 170.17 Mbps on 5G.
BSNL recorded an average 4G download speed of 11.99 Mbps, while Vodafone Idea delivered 8.77 Mbps.
Jio narrowly led average upload performance at 26.55 Mbps, compared with Airtel’s 26.31 Mbps. Vodafone Idea achieved 6.38 Mbps, marginally ahead of BSNL’s 6.35 Mbps.
Airtel posts lowest coverage gap in Solan
Airtel reported 493 poor-signal samples out of 12,912 samples in Solan and nearby areas, producing the lowest coverage-gap rate at approximately 3.82 percent.
Jio recorded 508 poor-signal samples from 12,713, or around 4 percent. BSNL reported 712 poor-signal samples out of 12,833, equivalent to 5.55 percent. Vodafone Idea had 1,191 poor-signal samples from 12,908, representing the highest rate at approximately 9.23 percent.
Airtel recorded three dropped calls among 118 successfully established calls, or 2.54 percent. Vodafone Idea had five dropped calls out of 118 calls, or 4.24 percent, while Jio reported six dropped calls from 117 calls, equivalent to 5.13 percent.
BSNL posted the highest call-drop rate in Solan, with 11 dropped calls out of 119 successfully established calls, or approximately 9.24 percent.
Vodafone Idea recorded the fewest silence instances proportionally, with seven instances from 107 calls, or 6.54 percent. Airtel reported 11 from 109 calls, or 10.09 percent; Jio recorded 12 from 111, or 10.81 percent; and BSNL had 15 from 99, or 15.15 percent.
Jio leads coverage and speed on Solan–Shimla highway
On the 35.9 km Solan–Shimla highway route, Jio recorded only 38 poor-signal samples out of 4,406, giving it the lowest coverage-gap rate of approximately 0.86 percent.
Airtel registered 97 poor-signal samples from 4,403, or 2.20 percent. BSNL reported 575 from 4,086, equivalent to 14.07 percent, while Vodafone Idea had 605 from 4,238, or 14.28 percent.
Jio delivered the fastest average highway download speed at 126.64 Mbps on 5G, followed by Airtel at 81.98 Mbps. BSNL’s 4G network recorded 11.20 Mbps, while Vodafone Idea achieved 9.13 Mbps.
Jio also led upload performance at 14.87 Mbps. Airtel delivered 13.73 Mbps, Vodafone Idea recorded 4.88 Mbps and BSNL achieved 4.31 Mbps.
Jio and Vodafone Idea avoid highway call drops
Jio completed all 22 successfully established highway calls without a drop. Vodafone Idea also recorded no drops among 21 successfully established calls.
Airtel reported one dropped call out of 22, or 4.55 percent. BSNL recorded eight dropped calls among 22 successfully established calls, translating into a 36.36 percent drop rate.
Jio recorded no silence instances among 21 calls. Vodafone Idea reported one instance among 23 calls, or 4.35 percent. Airtel had three silence instances from 21 calls, or 14.29 percent, while BSNL recorded seven instances among 25 calls, equivalent to 28 percent.
TRAI’s June 2026 test indicates that Reliance Jio offered the strongest combination of 5G download speed, upload speed and highway coverage. Airtel remained competitive, particularly in Solan coverage and 5G speeds. BSNL and Vodafone Idea trailed the two 5G operators in data performance and showed wider voice-coverage gaps on several tested routes.
SHAFANA FAZAL