Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its drive test conducted across Palampur city, surrounding areas, and the Chandigarh-Palampur highway route in Himachal Pradesh during March 2026. The assessment evaluated the real-time quality of mobile voice and data services offered by Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (VIL).
The drive tests were conducted between March 10 and March 13, 2026, covering 197.4 km of city routes, five hotspot locations, a 1.6 km walk test, and a 242.1 km highway route connecting Chandigarh and Palampur. TRAI used multiple advanced test handsets and monitored services across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks.
Palampur City Performance
In terms of network coverage, Airtel recorded 918 poor signal samples out of 30,794 measurements, while Reliance Jio reported 1,358 poor signal samples out of 30,530. BSNL experienced the highest coverage gaps with 15,526 poor signal samples out of 29,977, followed by VIL with 4,287 out of 30,018.
For call drops, Reliance Jio delivered the best performance with only 1 dropped call out of 279 successfully established calls. Airtel recorded 2 dropped calls out of 277 calls, while VIL and BSNL registered 9 and 12 dropped calls respectively.
Call silence instances lasting more than three seconds were measured on 4G and 5G networks. Reliance Jio recorded 3 silence instances out of 270 calls, Airtel 5 out of 263 calls, and VIL 10 out of 261 calls.
Reliance Jio achieved the highest average download speed in Palampur city at 194.17 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 155.87 Mbps. VIL recorded 12.66 Mbps, while BSNL’s 3G network delivered 6.95 Mbps. For upload speeds, Reliance Jio led with 16.73 Mbps, narrowly ahead of Airtel’s 16.40 Mbps. VIL achieved 4.00 Mbps, while BSNL recorded 2.52 Mbps.
Chandigarh-Palampur Highway Results
Along the 242.1 km highway corridor covering Bilaspur, Ghumarwin, Hamirpur and Bhawarna, Airtel recorded the lowest coverage gaps with 372 poor signal samples out of 24,378 measurements. Reliance Jio followed with 483 out of 24,520 samples. BSNL reported 7,641 poor signal samples out of 23,479, while VIL recorded 4,269 out of 23,713.
Reliance Jio again delivered the strongest call reliability, recording only 1 dropped call out of 122 established calls. Airtel reported 2 dropped calls out of 122 calls, while VIL and BSNL experienced 12 and 14 dropped calls respectively.
For call silence performance, Reliance Jio recorded zero silence instances out of 122 calls. Airtel and VIL each reported 11 silence instances out of 124 calls.
Data performance on the highway route showed Reliance Jio leading with an average download speed of 199.45 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 145.87 Mbps. BSNL achieved 10.40 Mbps, while VIL recorded 11.56 Mbps.
Reliance Jio also posted one of the fastest upload performances at 21.97 Mbps, while Airtel achieved 22.49 Mbps. VIL recorded 6.35 Mbps and BSNL delivered 3.80 Mbps.
Areas Covered
The city drive covered Palampur, Maranda, Bhawarna Khas, Panchrukhi, Majheran Khas, Paprola, Baijnath, Aweri, Sungal, Bharamat Uparli, Sornu, Khas Khalet, Pharer, Bindravan, Nagri, Arth Jhilki, Darang Khas, Malan, Gopalpur, Sukairi, Kandi and Saperu.
The highway route included Chandigarh, Bilaspur, Ghumarwin, Hamirpur, Bhawarna and nearby areas.
Hotspot testing was conducted at Baijnath Temple, Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Palampur, Civil Court Complex Palampur, Palampur Bus Stand and Palampur Market. A walk test covering 1.6 km was also conducted in Palampur Main Market to evaluate network performance in high-density pedestrian areas.
The results indicate that Reliance Jio and Airtel delivered the strongest overall mobile broadband performance across both city and highway environments, while BSNL continued to face significant coverage and speed challenges compared with competing operators.
SHAFANA FAZAL
