Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released the findings of its Drive Test conducted in January 2026 across Bikaner City, Nokha and Shri Dungargarh towns, as well as key highway stretches including Deshnok to Norangdesar on NH 754A, part of the Amritsar to Jamnagar Bharatmala corridor, and Pugal to Ranjeetpura on NH-911 in Bikaner district of Rajasthan.
The assessment from January 13 to January 16, 2026 covered 293.8 km in urban areas, 41.1 km on NH 754A and 104.2 km on NH-911, capturing real-world mobile network performance across cities, towns and highway routes.
Bikaner City, Nokha and Shri Dungargarh: Strong 5G Speeds, Stable Voice KPIs
Voice Services Performance
In auto-selection mode (5G 4G 3G 2G), operators delivered the following results:
Call Setup Success Rate
Airtel: 100.00 percent
BSNL: 95.61 percent
Reliance Jio: 99.78 percent
Vodafone Idea: 99.55 percent
Drop Call Rate
Airtel: 0.00 percent
BSNL: 0.92 percent
Reliance Jio: 0.00 percent
Vodafone Idea: 0.45 percent
Call Setup Time
Airtel: 1.82 seconds
BSNL: 1.71 seconds
Reliance Jio: 0.57 seconds
Vodafone Idea: 1.10 seconds
Mean Opinion Score (MOS)
Airtel: 4.05
BSNL: 3.38
Reliance Jio: 4.55
Vodafone Idea: 4.53
Voice services in urban Bikaner showed high reliability, with Airtel and Reliance Jio recording zero drop call rates and strong MOS scores.
Data Services Performance
5G Average Download Throughput
Airtel: 225.02 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 337.31 Mbps
5G Average Upload Throughput
Airtel: 33.60 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 42.24 Mbps
4G Average Download Throughput
Airtel: 42.17 Mbps
BSNL: 14.41 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 54.68 Mbps
Vodafone Idea: 33.96 Mbps
4G Average Upload Throughput
Airtel: 13.41 Mbps
BSNL: 4.33 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 21.46 Mbps
Vodafone Idea: 12.61 Mbps
Latency at 50th percentile
Airtel: 25.17 ms
BSNL: 39.96 ms
Reliance Jio: 24.12 ms
Vodafone Idea: 33.64 ms
Reliance Jio delivered the highest 5G and 4G speeds in urban Bikaner, while Airtel also demonstrated strong 5G performance.
NH 754A: Deshnok to Norangdesar Highway Performance
Voice Services
Call Setup Success Rate
Airtel: 100.00 percent
BSNL: 74.07 percent
Reliance Jio: 100.00 percent
Vodafone Idea: 95.83 percent
Drop Call Rate
Airtel: 0.00 percent
BSNL: 0.00 percent
Reliance Jio: 0.00 percent
Vodafone Idea: 4.35 percent
Call Setup Time
Airtel: 1.89 seconds
BSNL: 2.19 seconds
Reliance Jio: 0.86 seconds
Vodafone Idea: 1.76 seconds
Mean Opinion Score
Airtel: 3.78
BSNL: 3.03
Reliance Jio: 3.58
Vodafone Idea: 3.60
Airtel and Reliance Jio maintained perfect call setup success rates on NH 754A, while BSNL recorded comparatively lower reliability.
Data Services
Average Download Throughput
Airtel: 55.22 Mbps
BSNL: 10.63 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 147.24 Mbps
Vodafone Idea: 11.43 Mbps
Average Upload Throughput
Airtel: 7.27 Mbps
BSNL: 2.63 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 9.83 Mbps
Vodafone Idea: 5.71 Mbps
Latency at 50th percentile
Airtel: 35.29 ms
BSNL: 231.04 ms
Reliance Jio: 26.51 ms
Vodafone Idea: 39.88 ms
Reliance Jio led highway data performance with significantly higher download speeds and lower latency.
NH-911: Pugal to Ranjeetpura Highway Shows Network Gaps
Voice Services
Call Setup Success Rate
Airtel: 88.64 percent
BSNL: 64.91 percent
Reliance Jio: 100.00 percent
Vodafone Idea: 18.82 percent
Drop Call Rate
Airtel: 12.82 percent
BSNL: 24.32 percent
Reliance Jio: 2.50 percent
Vodafone Idea: 31.25 percent
Call Setup Time
Airtel: 2.10 seconds
BSNL: 3.20 seconds
Reliance Jio: 1.63 seconds
Vodafone Idea: 5.39 seconds
Mean Opinion Score
Airtel: 3.90
BSNL: 3.38
Reliance Jio: 4.25
Vodafone Idea: 2.26
On NH-911, Reliance Jio emerged as the most reliable operator, while Vodafone Idea and BSNL recorded lower call setup success rates and higher drop call rates.
Data Services
Average Download Throughput
Airtel: 70.17 Mbps
BSNL: 9.53 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 91.80 Mbps
Vodafone Idea: 0.04 Mbps
Average Upload Throughput
Airtel: 12.16 Mbps
BSNL: 1.73 Mbps
Reliance Jio: 6.61 Mbps
Vodafone Idea: 0.14 Mbps
Latency at 50th percentile
Airtel: 30.61 ms
BSNL: 42.90 ms
Reliance Jio: 37.14 ms
Vodafone Idea: 860.39 ms
The NH-911 stretch highlighted significant performance variations, with Reliance Jio and Airtel delivering stronger data experience compared to others.
Extensive Coverage Across Urban and Highway Corridors
The drive test covered key locations including Nokha, Bikasar, Budhro ki Dhani, Rasisar, Palana, Udairamsagar, Gangashar, Sarah Kajani, Mukta Prasad Nagar, Norangdesar, Seruna, Jodhasar, Shri Dungargarh, Gangajali, Dantour, Miranwala, Karnisar, Miyawala, Kandharli and Gour.
The Drive Test underscores the progress in 5G deployment in Rajasthan’s urban centres, while also highlighting the need for further network optimization on select highway stretches, particularly NH-911. TRAI’s ongoing monitoring aims to ensure consistent mobile network quality for residents, businesses and commuters across Bikaner district. FASNA SHABEER
