TRAI Drive Test in Gujarat: Jio Leads 5G Speeds, BSNL Records Weak Performance

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted in February 2026 across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and the Vadodara–Ahmedabad Highway in Gujarat. The report aims to inform telecom consumers about the actual on-ground performance of mobile networks.

The drive tests were carried out from February 2 to February 6, 2026, covering 462.4 km of city routes, 95.3 km of highway stretch, 14 hotspot locations, and 2.5 km of walk tests. These tests were conducted under the supervision of TRAI’s Regional Office in Jaipur.

The IDT methodology involved testing all telecom service providers—Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio (RJIL), and Vodafone Idea (VIL)—using SIM cards across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. Real-time voice and data sessions were monitored using advanced testing devices and analytical software to reflect actual user experience across urban areas, hotspots, and transport hubs.

Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar: Voice Performance

In city areas, Airtel recorded a 100% call setup success rate, followed closely by Jio (99.86%) and Vodafone Idea (99.72%). BSNL lagged significantly at 81.91%.

Drop call rates were negligible for Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea (0%), while BSNL recorded 2.61%.

Jio provided the fastest call setup time at 0.50 seconds, followed by Vodafone Idea (0.63 seconds) and Airtel (0.89 seconds). BSNL recorded a slower average of 2.21 seconds.

In terms of call quality, Jio achieved the highest Mean Opinion Score (MOS) of 4.53, followed by Vodafone Idea (4.51), Airtel (4.00), and BSNL (3.12).

Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar: Data Performance

Jio led in 5G download speeds with 258.16 Mbps, followed by Airtel (121.09 Mbps) and Vodafone Idea (55.09 Mbps). BSNL did not provide 5G services in the tested locations.

For 4G download speeds, Airtel recorded the highest performance at 47.24 Mbps, followed by Jio (41.81 Mbps), Vodafone Idea (31.97 Mbps), and BSNL (18.05 Mbps).

In upload speeds, Vodafone Idea led in 4G with 12.76 Mbps, while Jio topped 5G uploads at 39.19 Mbps.

Latency was lowest for Jio (19.72 ms), indicating better responsiveness, followed by Vodafone Idea (21.39 ms), Airtel (32.55 ms), and BSNL (42.03 ms).

Vadodara–Ahmedabad Highway: Voice Performance

On the highway, Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea achieved a 100% call setup success rate, while BSNL recorded 89.80%.

A major concern was BSNL’s drop call rate of 22.73%, whereas other operators maintained zero drop calls.

Jio again delivered the fastest call setup time at 0.55 seconds, followed by Vodafone Idea (0.69 seconds) and Airtel (0.93 seconds). BSNL lagged at 3.67 seconds.

Voice quality scores (MOS) remained highest for Jio (4.50) and Vodafone Idea (4.45), compared to Airtel (3.80) and BSNL (2.66).

Vadodara–Ahmedabad Highway: Data Performance

Jio dominated data performance with an average download speed of 191.73 Mbps, followed by Airtel (97.38 Mbps) and Vodafone Idea (31.42 Mbps). BSNL recorded a significantly lower speed of 5.68 Mbps.

Upload speeds were also highest for Jio (23.86 Mbps), followed by Airtel (16.07 Mbps) and Vodafone Idea (13.57 Mbps), while BSNL recorded 2.38 Mbps.

Latency results again placed Jio ahead (20.97 ms), followed by Vodafone Idea (25.53 ms), Airtel (39.86 ms), and BSNL (47.44 ms).

Coverage Areas

The assessment included key locations such as Gandhinagar, Kolavada, Sector-26, Sector-30, Kudasan, Adalaj, Hansol, Naroda, Bapunagar, and Maninagar. The highway route covered the National Expressway-1 stretch via Poicha, Chikodra, Nadiad, Modaj, and Geratnagar.

Conclusion

The TRAI report highlights strong performance by private telecom operators, particularly Reliance Jio and Airtel, in both urban and highway scenarios. BSNL, however, showed weaker performance across several key parameters, especially in call drops and data speeds.

TRAI has shared the findings with all telecom service providers for necessary improvements. The detailed report is available on the official TRAI website, and consumers can contact the TRAI Jaipur regional office for further information.