The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released the results of its Independent Drive Test for the Jammu and Kashmir Licensed Service Area, highlighting mobile network performance across city roads, highways, and railway corridors during December 2025. The findings provide critical insights into voice reliability and data quality in one of India’s most challenging and diverse telecom terrains.
Scope and methodology of the J&K drive test
The Independent Drive Test was conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Delhi, between 08 December and 11 December 2025. The assessment covered 209.0 kilometers of city drive testing, 43.7 kilometers of highway drive testing, 7.1 kilometers of walk testing, six hotspot locations, one inter operator calling location, and an extensive 654.0 kilometers of railway route testing between New Delhi and Katra.
TRAI evaluated 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies to reflect the real world experience of users across multiple handset types. The results have been shared with all telecom service providers for corrective action and network improvement.
Voice service performance across J&K
Voice services were assessed using parameters such as call setup success rate, drop call rate, call setup time, call silence rate, speech quality measured through Mean Opinion Score, and coverage.
Reliance Jio recorded the highest call setup success rate at 98.39 percent in auto selection mode across 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G, followed closely by Airtel at 97.28 percent. Vodafone Idea posted a call setup success rate of 93.11 percent, while BSNL trailed significantly at 82.65 percent.
Drop call performance highlighted further contrasts. Reliance Jio delivered the lowest drop call rate at 2.45 percent, followed by Vodafone Idea at 2.69 percent. Airtel reported a higher drop call rate of 3.46 percent, while BSNL recorded the weakest performance with a drop call rate of 11.36 percent, pointing to persistent call stability issues in the region.
Coverage across cities, highways, and rail routes
The assessment covered dense residential and commercial areas in Katra and Udhampur, including Katra Railway Colony, Sumdrani, Kotla, Dheer, Arli Hansali, Chack Rakwalan, Himbra, Garhi, Ladan, Rakh Thanua, Mohar, Tordi, Mada, Sanget, Kud, and Patnitop.
TRAI also evaluated performance at key public and institutional locations such as Katra Bus Stand, Court Complex Udhampur, Katra Railway Station, Patnitop, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, and Udhampur Bus Stand.
Walk tests conducted on 10 and 11 December 2025 focused on crowded pedestrian areas including Gole Market Udhampur and Old and New Markets in Katra, capturing network behavior under high user density.
Highway and railway connectivity insights
High speed corridor testing was carried out along the highway route from Katra to Udhampur via Sen Brahmana, Kapad Chang, Nagrota, Barial, and Sewali. The tests assessed call continuity and data reliability during vehicular movement.
In addition, railway route testing from New Delhi to Katra, passing through Ambala Cantt Junction, Ludhiana Junction, Kathua, Jammu Tawi, and Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan Station, evaluated mobile network performance in long distance, high speed rail travel scenarios.
Overall assessment
The December 2025 TRAI Independent Drive Test results show that Reliance Jio and Airtel delivered comparatively stronger voice connectivity across cities, highways, and rail corridors in Jammu and Kashmir. Vodafone Idea showed moderate performance, while BSNL faced significant challenges in both call setup success and drop call rates.
The TRAI assessment for Jammu and Kashmir shows notable differences in network performance across operators in both voice and data services. In voice services, Reliance Jio delivered the strongest results with the highest call setup success rate of 98.39 percent, the fastest call setup time at 0.80 seconds, and the best voice quality reflected by a Mean Opinion Score of 4.44. Airtel followed with a solid call setup success rate of 97.28 percent and a MOS of 4.00. Vodafone Idea posted moderate performance, while BSNL lagged significantly with a low call setup success rate of 82.65 percent, the slowest call setup time at 3.38 seconds, and the highest drop call rate of 11.36 percent.
In data services, Reliance Jio again led overall performance with the highest average download speed of 216.24 Mbps, the fastest upload speed at 21.60 Mbps, and the lowest latency at 27.02 ms. Airtel delivered consistent mid range data performance, while Vodafone Idea recorded lower average speeds. BSNL showed the weakest data performance, with very low download and upload speeds and comparatively higher latency. Hotspot testing reinforced these trends, with Reliance Jio and Airtel providing stronger 4G and 5G throughput, while BSNL continued to face coverage and capacity challenges. Overall, the results highlight the clear advantage of private operators, particularly Reliance Jio, in delivering reliable voice quality and high speed data across Jammu and Kashmir.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
