Reliance Jio has recorded the fastest mobile download speed of 110.82 Mbps, while Bharti Airtel led upload performance at 11.75 Mbps in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) September 2026 network quality assessment along the 515.9-km New Tinsukia–Guwahati railway route in Assam.
The independent drive test (IDT), conducted on September 11, 2026, assessed mobile network coverage, dropped calls, download speeds and upload speeds across Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and BSNL.
The findings showed substantial differences in network performance, with Reliance Jio leading download speeds and recording the lowest proportion of no-coverage samples, while Airtel delivered the lowest dropped-call rate. BSNL and Vodafone Idea registered significantly higher coverage gaps and call-drop rates.
Reliance Jio Leads Download Speed with 110.82 Mbps
Reliance Jio achieved an download speed of 110.82 Mbps, approximately 2.6 times Airtel’s 42.71 Mbps.
Vodafone Idea recorded 15.69 Mbps, while BSNL delivered 5.00 Mbps.
Jio’s download speed was more than seven times Vodafone Idea’s performance and approximately 22 times BSNL’s speed.
In upload performance, Airtel ranked first with 11.75 Mbps, followed by Reliance Jio at 8.29 Mbps, Vodafone Idea at 5.46 Mbps and BSNL at 3.25 Mbps.
The TRAI assessment covered 5G/4G download performance for Reliance Jio and Airtel, while the overall results for Vodafone Idea and BSNL reflected 4G/2G testing.
Airtel Records Lowest Call-Drop Rate, BSNL Highest
Bharti Airtel delivered the lowest call-drop rate of approximately 3.01 percent, with five dropped calls out of 166 successfully established calls.
Reliance Jio registered nine dropped calls out of 175 established calls, representing a drop rate of 5.14 percent.
Vodafone Idea recorded 34 dropped calls out of 164 established calls, resulting in a 20.73 percent call-drop rate.
BSNL reported 65 dropped calls out of 205 established calls, equivalent to 31.71 percent.
| Operator | Established calls | Dropped calls | Drop rate |
| Bharti Airtel | 166 | 5 | 3.01% |
| Reliance Jio | 175 | 9 | 5.14% |
| Vodafone Idea | 164 | 34 | 20.73% |
| BSNL | 205 | 65 | 31.71% |
Airtel’s dropped-call rate was approximately 1.7 times lower than Reliance Jio’s, while BSNL’s rate was more than ten times Airtel’s.
Reliance Jio Records Lowest No-Coverage Rate
Reliance Jio recorded the lowest proportion of samples indicating limited service or no coverage, with 197 samples out of 33,296, equivalent to approximately 0.59 percent.
Airtel registered 631 no-coverage samples out of 32,385, representing 1.95 percent.
BSNL recorded 2,085 no-coverage samples out of 25,698, equivalent to 8.11 percent.
Vodafone Idea had the highest no-coverage proportion at 9.91 percent, with 2,703 samples out of 27,285.
Mobile Network Coverage Performance
| Operator | Poor signal samples | Poor signal rate | No-coverage rate |
| Reliance Jio | 4,808 | 14.44% | 0.59% |
| Bharti Airtel | 4,754 | 14.68% | 1.95% |
| Vodafone Idea | 12,738 | 46.68% | 9.91% |
| BSNL | 12,486 | 48.59% | 8.11% |
Reliance Jio and Airtel demonstrated similar poor-signal proportions of approximately 14–15 percent.
In comparison, nearly half of BSNL’s samples and approximately 47 percent of Vodafone Idea’s samples fell below the specified minimum signal-strength threshold.
The no-coverage results also showed that Vodafone Idea’s rate was approximately 16.7 times Reliance Jio’s, while BSNL’s was approximately 13.7 times higher.
These percentages represent the proportion of collected test samples, not the percentage of railway distance without coverage.
Jio and Airtel Exceed Declared Download Speeds
TRAI also compared actual download and upload performance with the typical throughput declared by telecom operators.
Reliance Jio achieved 110.82 Mbps against its declared typical download throughput of 15 Mbps.
Airtel delivered 42.71 Mbps against its declared 23 Mbps.
Vodafone Idea achieved 15.69 Mbps against its declared 15 Mbps.
BSNL recorded 5 Mbps against its declared 24.24 Mbps.
For upload speeds, Airtel exceeded its declared 10 Mbps with 11.75 Mbps, while Reliance Jio surpassed its declared 7 Mbps with 8.29 Mbps.
Vodafone Idea’s measured upload speed of 5.46 Mbps was below its declared 8 Mbps, while BSNL’s 3.25 Mbps was below its declared 4.33 Mbps.
TRAI Tests Network Quality Across 515.9-km Assam Railway Corridor
The TRAI assessment covered the railway corridor connecting New Tinsukia and Guwahati through Simaluguri Junction, Mariani Junction, Furkating Junction, Dimapur, Diphu and Lumding Junction.
The regulator also assessed stationary mobile network performance at Guwahati Railway Station and New Tinsukia Railway Station.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
