Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its November 2025 Independent Drive Test (IDT) results for Bihar LSA, covering city routes in Hazaribagh district and adjoining areas, highways from Ranchi to Patna along NH-19, 20, 22, and the Patna-Ranchi railway corridor. The tests assessed 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks, evaluating key voice service parameters including Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) and Drop Call Rate (DCR).
5G data services achieved a maximum average download speed of 199.26 Mbps and an upload speed of 24.47 Mbps. Poor signal strength in auto-selection mode was observed in 5.53 percent of Airtel, 46.10 percent of BSNL, 4.52 percent of RJIL, and 23.98 percent of VIL of the city drive routes.
The survey covered numerous locations across Hazaribagh district and adjoining areas, including Hadri, Kariyatpur, Harli Peto, Daru, Amnari, Kesura, Sita Garha, and many more. TRAI also conducted detailed assessments at institutional hotspots, post offices, bus stands, colleges, hospitals, courts, and wildlife sanctuaries, as well as static and walk tests at railway stations and other key points. The findings provide insights into real-world mobile data performance, coverage gaps, and signal reliability across urban, institutional, and transit environments.
Performance Highlights by Service Provider:
Airtel: Achieved 96.63 percent overall CSSR with 0.27 percent DCR, performing excellently on city (99.65 percent) and highway (100 percent) routes, with minor drop calls on railways (1.82 percent).
BSNL: Recorded 57.80 percent overall CSSR and 6.79 percent DCR, with lower performance on railway routes (CSSR 14.72 percent, DCR 11.32 percent).
RJIL (Jio): Topped the overall metrics with 99.21 percent CSSR and 0.79 percent DCR, showing near-perfect service on city (99.66 percent) and highway (100 percent) routes, and strong railway performance (CSSR 95.87 percent).
VIL (Vi): Reported 82.99 percent overall CSSR and 8.73 percent DCR, with best performance on city routes (CSSR 89.31 percent) but lower railway performance (CSSR 59.43 percent, DCR 23.08 percent).
Voice Call Setup
Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and Vi achieved call setup success rates of 96.63%, 57.80%, 99.21%, and 82.99%, respectively. Call setup times were 1.74, 3.29, 0.76, and 1.73 seconds for these operators.
Drop and Silence Rates
Drop call rates stood at 0.27%, 6.79%, 0.79%, and 8.73% for Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and Vi in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). Packet switched network silence rates were 1.98%, 14.4%, 9.87%, and 7.98%, respectively.
Mean Opinion Score
Voice quality Mean Opinion Scores (MOS) reached 3.99 for Airtel, 2.64 for BSNL, 4.44 for RJIL, and 4.46 for Vi. These metrics highlight Airtel and RJIL’s stronger performance in Bihar’s tested areas.
Operators Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and Vi delivered mixed download, upload speeds, and latency results. RJIL led in several key metrics.
Overall Throughput
Average data download speeds reached 4 Mbps for BSNL (3G/2G), 104 Mbps for Airtel (5G/4G), and 199.26 Mbps for RJIL (5G/4G), with Vi at 32.09 Mbps (4G/2G). Upload speeds averaged 24.47 Mbps for Airtel (5G/4G/2G), 2.93 Mbps for BSNL (4G/3G/2G), 23.54 Mbps for RJIL (5G/4G), and 12.14 Mbps for Vi (4G/2G).
Latency Performance
Overall latency measured 55.95 ms for Airtel, 64.18 ms for BSNL, 32.92 ms for RJIL, and 59.27 ms for Vi. Lower latency from RJIL supports better real-time data applications in tested areas.
Hotspot Speeds
In hotspots, RJIL achieved top 5G download at 237.78 Mbps and upload at 29.60 Mbps, while Airtel hit 132.94 Mbps download and 42.18 Mbps upload on 5G. 4G hotspots showed Airtel at 37.25 Mbps download/9.72 Mbps upload, RJIL at 47.90 Mbps/11.17 Mbps, and Vi at 31.09 Mbps/12.26 Mbps. BSNL lacked specific hotspot data here.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
