The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released its drive test results for March 2026, highlighting mobile network quality performance of operators across Warangal city and surrounding areas in Andhra Pradesh.
The drive test covered 375.3 km and 8 hotspot locations between March 23 and March 25, 2026, evaluating 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G performance across urban zones, institutional hotspots, and rural residential areas.
Airtel leads in call reliability, VIL fastest call setup time
In voice network quality, Bharti Airtel achieved a perfect 100.00 percent Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), followed by Vodafone Idea at 99.08 percent, Reliance Jio at 97.95 percent, and BSNL at 96.11 percent.
Vodafone Idea recorded the fastest call setup time at 0.67 seconds, followed by Reliance Jio at 0.77 seconds, Airtel at 0.93 seconds, and BSNL at 1.69 seconds.
Drop call rates further highlight network quality differences, with Airtel and Vodafone Idea reporting 0.00 percent drop rates, compared to Reliance Jio at 0.70 percent and BSNL significantly higher at 17.87 percent.
Jio tops voice quality, Airtel ensures consistent coverage
Reliance Jio delivered the highest Mean Opinion Score (MOS) of 4.46, indicating superior voice clarity, while Airtel followed at 3.98, Vodafone Idea at 3.76, and BSNL at 2.97.
Network coverage consistency remained strongest for Airtel, with poor signal observed in just 0.68 percent of the test route, compared with Reliance Jio at 1.54 percent, Vodafone Idea at 7.16 percent, and BSNL at 22.12 percent.
Jio dominates 5G data speeds, Airtel balances performance
In data network quality, Reliance Jio emerged as the clear leader with an average download speed of 260.01 Mbps, significantly ahead of Airtel at 161.18 Mbps, Vodafone Idea at 27.83 Mbps, and BSNL at 8.32 Mbps.
Upload speeds showed Airtel in the lead at 25.35 Mbps, followed by Reliance Jio at 19.48 Mbps, Vodafone Idea at 9.02 Mbps, and BSNL at 3.07 Mbps.
Latency performance further reinforced network efficiency, with Reliance Jio recording the lowest latency at 21.94 ms, compared to Airtel at 38.36 ms, Vodafone Idea at 43.70 ms, and BSNL at 57.81 ms.
5G hotspots show massive speed gains for RJIL and Airtel
Hotspot testing across key locations such as NIT Warangal, Kakatiya University, and Warangal Railway Station revealed strong 5G performance.
Reliance Jio achieved peak 5G download speeds of 338.42 Mbps and upload speeds of 20.49 Mbps, while Airtel recorded 196.34 Mbps download and 36.71 Mbps upload speeds.
In 4G hotspot performance, Reliance Jio delivered 67.16 Mbps download speeds, Airtel 40.48 Mbps, Vodafone Idea 38.01 Mbps, and BSNL 8.07 Mbps.
Signal strength challenges persist for some operators
Despite strong speed performance, signal quality remains a challenge for several operators. Poor signal during data testing was observed in 10.99 percent of routes for Airtel, 13.22 percent for Reliance Jio, 11.46 percent for Vodafone Idea, and a high 29.61 percent for BSNL.
Network quality gap widens across operators
The TRAI drive test highlights a widening gap in network quality among operators. Airtel stands out for reliability, coverage, and balanced performance across voice and data. Reliance Jio leads in 5G speed, latency, and voice clarity, positioning itself as the top performer in data-intensive use cases.
Vodafone Idea shows competitive call setup performance and stable voice reliability but lags in data speeds, while BSNL continues to face significant challenges in both voice stability and data performance.
SHAFANA FAZAL
