Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel emerged as the top-performing mobile network operators on the Hyderabad–Hindupur corridor, according to the latest drive test conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in April 2026. The assessment evaluated network coverage, voice quality, call reliability and mobile data performance on both highway and railway routes across Andhra Pradesh.
TRAI’s appointed agency carried out tests over 473.7 km of highways and 515.8 km of railway routes between April 20 and April 21, 2026. The survey covered the Hindupur–Hyderabad highway via Anantapur, Dhone, Kurnool and Jadcherla, and the Hyderabad–Hindupur railway passing through Jadcherla, Kurnool Town, Dhone Junction, Gooty Junction, Anantapur and Dharmavaram Junction.
Airtel Delivers the Best Highway Coverage
On the Hindupur–Hyderabad highway, Bharti Airtel recorded the fewest poor signal samples with 427 out of 33,655, followed by Jio with 751 out of 33,289. Vodafone Idea (Vi) registered 4,021 out of 33,216, while BSNL reported the highest coverage gap at 7,003 out of 32,128 samples.
For no-coverage instances, Airtel and Jio achieved zero limited-service samples, whereas Vi recorded 35 and BSNL 94.
Airtel and Jio Record Zero Highway Dropped Calls
Airtel and Jio completed highway voice testing without a single dropped call, recording 0 out of 169 established calls each. Vi reported 6 dropped calls out of 170, while BSNL recorded 15 out of 169.
Jio also delivered the best voice quality with only 4 call silence instances out of 167 calls, ahead of Airtel’s 7 out of 165, Vi’s 12 out of 167, and BSNL’s 13 out of 148.
Jio Dominates Highway 5G Download Speeds
Jio achieved the fastest highway mobile internet performance with an average download speed of 244.03 Mbps, more than double Airtel’s 109.79 Mbps. Vi averaged 22.62 Mbps, while BSNL’s 3G network recorded 10.96 Mbps.
For uploads, Airtel ranked first with 22.50 Mbps, ahead of Jio’s 18.02 Mbps, Vi’s 7.49 Mbps, and BSNL’s 4.0 Mbps.
Airtel Maintains Strong Railway Coverage
On the Hyderabad–Hindupur railway route, Airtel again delivered the strongest coverage with 1,205 poor signal samples out of 25,211, followed closely by Jio with 1,318 out of 25,056. Vi recorded 3,311 out of 24,771, while BSNL reported 8,305 out of 23,798, the weakest result among operators.
For limited-service areas, Airtel recorded only 5 no-coverage samples, compared with 83 for Jio, 190 for Vi, and 463 for BSNL.
Jio Leads Railway Mobile Data Performance
Airtel maintained perfect call reliability with zero dropped calls out of 126 established calls on the railway route. Jio recorded 2 dropped calls out of 127, Vi 8 out of 126, and BSNL 28 out of 134.
Jio also led railway data performance with an average download speed of 119.61 Mbps, substantially ahead of Airtel’s 25.16 Mbps, Vi’s 19.87 Mbps, and BSNL’s 10.61 Mbps.
For uploads, Jio achieved the highest average speed at 10.41 Mbps, followed by Vi at 9.69 Mbps, Airtel at 9.38 Mbps, and BSNL at 6.02 Mbps.
The latest TRAI drive test highlights a clear performance trend across the Hyderabad–Hindupur transport corridor. Jio delivered the fastest 5G download speeds on both highway and railway routes, while Airtel consistently provided the strongest network coverage, zero dropped calls, and the highest upload speeds on highways, making both operators the leading choices for mobile users travelling across the region.
SHAFANA FAZAL
