The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the results of its Drive Test conducted in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
TRAI’s drive test in Chitradurga shows Airtel and Reliance Jio leading voice and data performance, while BSNL and Vodafone Idea trail in several key metrics.
Call Setup Success Rate (Auto selection mode 5G 4G 3G 2G)
Airtel: 97.90 percent
Reliance Jio: 96.77 percent
BSNL: 79.86 percent
Vodafone Idea: 76.10 percent
Airtel and Reliance Jio delivered significantly higher call connection success compared to BSNL and Vodafone Idea.
Drop Call Rate
Airtel: 0.39 percent
Reliance Jio: 0.98 percent
Vodafone Idea: 2.08 percent
BSNL: 3.63 percent
Airtel recorded the lowest drop call rate, indicating stronger network reliability in the region.
In voice services, Airtel achieved the highest call setup success rate at 97.90 percent, closely followed by Reliance Jio at 96.77 percent. BSNL and Vodafone Idea recorded significantly lower success rates of 79.86 percent and 76.10 percent. Reliance Jio delivered the fastest call setup time at 0.85 seconds, followed by Airtel at 1.22 seconds, while BSNL and Vodafone Idea lagged at 2.86 seconds and 2.15 seconds. Airtel also recorded the lowest drop call rate at 0.39 percent, with Reliance Jio at 0.98 percent, Vodafone Idea at 2.08 percent, and BSNL at 3.63 percent. In terms of call silence or mute rate on 4G and 5G networks, Airtel performed best at 1.97 percent, followed by Reliance Jio at 2.35 percent, BSNL at 3.03 percent, while Vodafone Idea had the highest at 9.96 percent. Reliance Jio delivered the best voice quality with a Mean Opinion Score of 4.29, followed by Airtel at 3.86, Vodafone Idea at 3.71, and BSNL at 2.68.
For data services, Reliance Jio recorded the fastest average download speed at 173.99 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 133.45 Mbps, Vodafone Idea at 27.21 Mbps, and BSNL at 9.12 Mbps. Airtel led average upload speeds at 30.77 Mbps, followed by Reliance Jio at 15.48 Mbps, Vodafone Idea at 13.93 Mbps, and BSNL at 2.52 Mbps. Latency performance was strongest for Reliance Jio at 23.49 ms, while Airtel and Vodafone Idea recorded similar latency around 49 ms, and BSNL lagged at 57.63 ms.
Hotspot testing showed strong 5G performance from both Airtel and Reliance Jio. Airtel recorded 5G speeds of 171.66 Mbps download and 42.18 Mbps upload, while Reliance Jio achieved 220.06 Mbps download and 24.01 Mbps upload. Overall, the results highlight strong 5G led data performance from Reliance Jio and Airtel, with BSNL and Vodafone Idea still trailing in network speed and reliability.
The assessment provides a detailed view of real world mobile network performance across urban zones, highways, public transport hubs, and institutional hotspots, highlighting the quality of voice and data services delivered by major telecom operators.
TRAI evaluates real world mobile performance across Chitradurga
The drive tests were conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office in Bengaluru between 2 December and 5 December 2025. The exercise covered 401.2 km of testing routes, including 393.2 km of city drive tests, 13 hotspot locations, and 8 km of walk tests.
TRAI evaluated network performance across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies to reflect the experience of users with different handset capabilities.
TRAI said the assessment on mobile network quality covered high density residential areas such as Adarsha Nagar, Seebara, Vijapur, Holalkere, Hosadurga, Hiriyur, Challakere, Thalaku, Mustur, and Madakaripura, among others.
Hotspot and walk test locations
To understand network performance in high traffic environments, TRAI tested connectivity at key public and institutional locations including:
Chitradurga KSRTC Bus Stand and RTO Office
District Collector Office and District Hospital
Challakere Bus Stand and Taluk Office
Hiriyur and Hosadurga Government Hospitals
Muruga Rajendra Mata and Onake Obawa Stadium
SJM Institute of Technology
Walk tests were conducted in crowded pedestrian zones such as APMC Market, Chandravalli Kere Park, Chitradurga Fort, and Chitradurga Railway Station.
These tests reflect real world user experience in crowded and high mobility scenarios.
Voice service performance: Airtel leads call setup success
TRAI measured key voice quality indicators including Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate, Call Setup Time, Call Silence Rate, and Mean Opinion Score (MOS).
TRAI’s Chitradurga Drive Test confirms strong voice network performance from Airtel and Reliance Jio, while BSNL and Vodafone Idea continue to face challenges in call success and reliability metrics.
