Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the results of its drive test conducted across Sagar and Raigarh cities in Madhya Pradesh during March 2026, offering a comprehensive assessment of mobile network quality delivered by Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi).
TRAI conducted drive tests between March 16 and March 21, 2026, covering 455.1 km of city routes, 16 hotspot locations, and 9.7 km of walk-test routes. The exercise assessed key Quality of Service (QoS) metrics such as network coverage, call drops, call silence instances, download speeds, and upload speeds across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks.
Coverage Performance
In Sagar city, Airtel recorded the lowest coverage gap with 602 poor signal samples out of 33,259 measurements. Reliance Jio followed with 913 poor signal samples out of 32,486 measurements. Vodafone Idea reported 2,040 poor signal samples out of 32,586 measurements, while BSNL registered 3,404 poor signal samples out of 31,918 measurements.
In Raigarh city, Reliance Jio delivered the strongest coverage performance with only 454 poor signal samples out of 29,999 measurements. Airtel recorded 1,620 poor signal samples out of 30,692 measurements, Vodafone Idea reported 3,754 poor signal samples out of 30,618 measurements, and BSNL recorded 8,026 poor signal samples out of 29,127 measurements.
Dropped Calls
Airtel and Reliance Jio achieved zero dropped calls in Sagar, recording 0 dropped calls out of 295 and 294 successfully established calls respectively. BSNL recorded 5 dropped calls out of 270 calls, while Vodafone Idea reported 5 dropped calls out of 294 calls.
In Raigarh, Airtel and Vodafone Idea again achieved zero dropped calls, recording 0 dropped calls out of 271 and 277 established calls respectively. Reliance Jio reported 1 dropped call out of 254 calls, while BSNL recorded 4 dropped calls out of 260 calls.
Call Silence Instances
Call silence incidents lasting more than three seconds were also monitored.
In Sagar, Airtel recorded 4 silence instances out of 281 calls. BSNL registered 9 silence instances out of 237 calls. Reliance Jio reported 3 silence instances out of 284 calls, while Vodafone Idea recorded 5 silence instances out of 281 calls.
In Raigarh, Airtel registered 14 silence instances out of 260 calls. BSNL recorded 39 silence instances out of 214 calls. Reliance Jio delivered the best result with only 2 silence instances out of 244 calls, while Vodafone Idea reported 7 silence instances out of 258 calls.
Mobile Data Download Speeds
Reliance Jio delivered the highest average download speeds in both cities.
In Sagar, average download speeds were:
Reliance Jio (5G/4G): 277.28 Mbps
Airtel (5G/4G): 98.22 Mbps
Vodafone Idea (4G): 35.85 Mbps
BSNL (4G): 15.73 Mbps
In Raigarh, average download speeds were:
Reliance Jio (5G/4G): 172.64 Mbps
Airtel (5G/4G): 98.78 Mbps
Vodafone Idea (4G): 21.72 Mbps
BSNL (4G): 16.08 Mbps
Mobile Data Upload Speeds
In Sagar, average upload speeds were:
Reliance Jio (5G/4G): 28.71 Mbps
Airtel (5G/4G): 22.20 Mbps
Vodafone Idea (4G): 10.55 Mbps
BSNL (4G): 4.73 Mbps
In Raigarh, average upload speeds were:
Airtel (5G/4G): 22.21 Mbps
Reliance Jio (5G/4G): 19.84 Mbps
Vodafone Idea (4G): 13.06 Mbps
BSNL (4G): 5.40 Mbps
Areas Covered During Testing
The city drive in Sagar covered Gopal Ganj, Berkhari Guru, Udaipura Tiwari, Pipariya Ramwan, Sironja, Bamhori Bika, Lidhorahat, Samora, Makronia, Makronia Muhal, Guru Amar Das Nagar, Gadoli Khurd, Anand Nagar, Badona, Rajauya, Keshav Ganj, Motinagar and Katra Bazar.
In Raigarh, the city drive covered Khairpur, Mauhpali, Kachhar, Kotra, Kosamnara, Keio Vihar, Urdana, Barliya, Tumidih, Chandni Chowk, Darogapara and Chakradhar Nagar.
The 16 hotspot locations included Carmel Convent Higher Secondary School Raigarh, Collectorate Sagar, Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University Sagar, Government Engineering College Sagar, Government Polytechnic College Sagar, Kirodimal Arts & Science College Raigarh, Kirodimal Government District Hospital Raigarh, Kirodimal Polytechnic College Raigarh, Makroniya Chauraha Sagar, Medical College Sagar, O.P. Jindal University (OPJU) Raigarh, Raigarh Bus Stand, Raigarh Collectorate, Sagar Bus Stand, Shanichari Bazaar Raigarh and Uttam International School Raigarh.
Walk tests conducted from March 16 to March 21, 2026 covered Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University Sagar, Late Shri Lakhi Ram Agrawal Memorial Government Medical College Raigarh, Raigarh Railway Station and Sagar Railway Station to evaluate mobile network performance in crowded pedestrian environments.
The findings indicate that Reliance Jio maintained a significant lead in mobile data speeds and coverage quality across both cities, while Airtel demonstrated strong performance in call reliability and upload speeds. BSNL and Vodafone Idea continued to provide coverage across the region but lagged behind the two leading operators on several key network quality indicators measured by TRAI.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH