Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its drive test conducted across Bharuch city and nearby areas in Gujarat during 5-8 May 2026, highlighting the mobile network performance of Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and BSNL.
The assessment covered 361.2 km of city drive routes, 11 hotspot locations, and 1.5 km of walk-test routes to evaluate real-world mobile experience across 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G networks.
Jio delivers fastest download speeds
Reliance Jio emerged as the top performer in mobile broadband, recording download speed of 180.22 Mbps on its 5G/4G network. Airtel followed with 117.72 Mbps, while Vodafone Idea achieved 31.14 Mbps and BSNL delivered 12.93 Mbps.
For upload performance, Airtel narrowly outperformed Jio, recording the highest upload speed of 24.53 Mbps, compared with 24.09 Mbps for Jio. Vodafone Idea posted 17.38 Mbps, while BSNL recorded 4.59 Mbps.
Airtel and Jio dominate voice performance
Jio registered the lowest coverage gap, with only 377 poor signal samples out of 42,071 collected during testing. Airtel closely followed with 618 poor signal samples out of 42,053. Vodafone Idea recorded 1,311 poor signal samples out of 41,818, while BSNL reported 3,289 poor signal samples out of 40,866.
Voice reliability was strongest for Airtel and Vodafone Idea, with zero dropped calls during the drive test. Airtel completed 378 successful calls without a single drop, while Vodafone Idea recorded 0 dropped calls out of 380 successfully established calls.
Jio experienced just 1 dropped call out of 380 successfully established calls, whereas BSNL reported 10 dropped calls out of 365, the highest among the four operators.
Jio also led in call quality, recording only 4 call silence instances lasting more than three seconds out of 366 established calls. Airtel followed with 6 silence instances out of 365 calls, while Vodafone Idea reported 28 out of 363, and BSNL recorded 41 out of 309, indicating weaker voice consistency.
TRAI covered major locations across Bharuch
The drive test covered Derol, Samni, Vagara, Pakhajan, Galenda, Dahej, Lakhigam, Luvara, Ambetha, Jolva, Eksal, Dehgam, Andada, Ankleshwar, Kosamdi, Govali Bet, Jhanor, Nabipur, Palej, and Tankariya.
Network performance was also evaluated at 11 hotspot locations, including Ankleshwar GSRTC Bus Stand, Ankleshwar Railway Station, Bharuch GSRTC Bus Stand, Bharuch Railway Station, City Centre Bharuch, Civil Hospital Bharuch, Collector Office Bharuch, Inox Shalimar Mall, Matariya Talav, Panchbatti Chauraha, and Zadeshwar Chaukdi.
Additionally, a 1.5 km walk test was conducted between Soneri Mahal and Dhodhi Kui Bazaar to assess network performance in pedestrian areas.
The TRAI findings show that Reliance Jio delivered the best overall mobile broadband performance, strongest network coverage, and highest voice quality, while Airtel excelled in upload speeds and matched Vodafone Idea with zero dropped calls. Vodafone Idea demonstrated reliable voice connectivity but lagged in broadband speeds, whereas BSNL continued to trail competitors in coverage, voice performance, and mobile data throughput.
SHAFANA FAZAL
