The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its Drive Test conducted across Surat city in Gujarat during November 2025, offering an on-ground assessment of mobile network quality for telecom consumers. The exercise is designed to evaluate real-world performance of mobile voice and data services delivered by telecom service providers across multiple network technologies.
The Drive Test focuses on verifying actual user experience rather than theoretical network capabilities. During the assessment, TRAI captured live performance data on key performance indicators such as call setup success rate, speech quality, and mobile data download and upload speeds. Advanced test handsets were deployed, with sessions monitored in real time and analyzed using sophisticated software systems to ensure accuracy and consistency of results.
TRAI’s Regional Office in Jaipur, through its appointed agency, carried out extensive drive and walk tests in Surat city between November 3 and November 7, 2025. The assessment covered 412 kilometers of city drive routes, 14 identified hotspot locations, and 2.0 kilometers of walk tests. These routes and locations were selected to reflect a wide range of real-life usage environments, including commercial areas, residential zones, and high-traffic public spaces.
The tests evaluated mobile services in open mode with auto network selection across 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G technologies. This approach mirrors how consumers typically use their devices, allowing seamless switching between available networks based on coverage and signal strength. By assessing multiple technologies simultaneously, the IDT provides a comprehensive view of network performance across both newer and legacy platforms.
Data performance
The findings show a wide variation in data performance across operators.
Reliance Jio delivered the strongest data experience, recording the highest download throughput of 279.36 Mbits per second and the highest upload throughput of 46.54 Mbits per second. Jio also achieved low latency of 22.74 milliseconds, indicating superior network responsiveness.
Bharti Airtel ranked second in overall data performance, with a download throughput of 149.11 Mbits per second and an average upload throughput of 39.01 Mbits per second, while reporting a latency of 40.73 milliseconds.
Vodafone Idea delivered moderate performance, with a download speed of 45.02 Mbits per second and upload throughput of 23.24 Mbits per second, and achieved one of the lowest median latency levels at 21.36 milliseconds.
BSNL lagged significantly behind private operators, posting an average download throughput of 4.83 Mbits per second and upload throughput of 6.60 Mbits per second, with a median latency of 41.88 milliseconds.
Overall, the drive test results highlight strong data service performance by Jio and Airtel in Surat city, improving network responsiveness for users, while BSNL continues to face challenges in delivering competitive mobile data speeds.
In voice services tested on 3G and 2G networks, Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea delivered strong call setup success rates of 99.55 percent, 100 percent, and 100 percent respectively, while BSNL recorded a lower call setup success rate of 92.82 percent. Drop call performance was best for Airtel and Vodafone Idea, both reporting a zero percent drop call rate. Jio recorded a marginal drop call rate of 0.15 percent, whereas BSNL showed a significantly higher drop call rate of 4.10 percent.
Call setup time was fastest on Jio at 0.56 seconds, followed by Vodafone Idea at 0.66 seconds, BSNL at 1.15 seconds, and Airtel at 1.24 seconds. Call silence or mute call rates were lowest for Airtel at 0.62 percent, closely followed by Jio at 0.76 percent and Vodafone Idea at 0.92 percent, while BSNL again lagged with a high call silence rate of 7.14 percent.
Voice quality, measured through Mean Opinion Score on a scale of 1 to 5, was highest for Vodafone Idea at 4.48, indicating very good voice experience. Airtel followed with a MOS of 4.01, Jio recorded 3.86, and BSNL reported the lowest MOS at 3.40. Overall, the drive test results indicate robust voice service performance by private operators in Surat, with BSNL trailing across most key performance indicators.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH