The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released findings of Independent Drive Tests (IDTs) on mobile voice and data quality in three areas. Two are in the West Bengal Licensed Service Area (LSA): Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts, and the Ganga stretch from Kolkata to Kachubaria-Gangasagar. The third is South Tripura district in the North East LSA. The tests ran on 9-13 June 2026, 6 June 2026 and 13-16 May 2026 respectively. TRAI said the findings are published for the information of general telecom consumers.
BSNL had the largest coverage gaps and the most dropped calls in the two West Bengal areas, while Reliance Jio and Airtel generally led on data speeds.
The drive tests assess the real-time quality of voice and data services of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). TRAI measures coverage, Call Drop Rate (CDR), Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), and data download and upload throughput. It said publishing the results is meant to inform consumers and encourage operators to improve.
Live data and voice sessions are set up using SIM cards of all operators over 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks, in settings such as cities, hotspots and public transport hubs. Multiple test handsets are used, and sessions are monitored and analysed in real time. An agency appointed by TRAI carried out the tests under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Kolkata. TRAI said the observations represent performance only on the area or route tested, on the day and time of the test.
The Alipurduar-Cooch Behar test covered a city drive of 494.5 km, 16 hotspots and a 3.8 km walk test. The Ganga coastal drive covered 124.4 km and 2 hotspots. In South Tripura, the city drive was 244.2 km, with 9 hotspots and a 1.6 km walk test.
In voice testing in auto-selection mode, BSNL recorded 21,699 poor-signal samples out of 59,947 in Alipurduar-Cooch Behar, against 2,771 of 64,500 for Airtel, 3,101 of 60,695 for Jio and 10,964 of 64,434 for Vodafone Idea (VIL). On the Ganga route BSNL had 10,326 of 16,338, and in South Tripura 11,854 of 28,800. The other operators recorded lower gap ratios in West Bengal. In South Tripura, Airtel had 6,217 of 30,754, Jio 7,590 of 35,527 and VIL 8,627 of 19,553.
In Alipurduar-Cooch Behar BSNL had 26 dropped calls out of 424 established, while Airtel had none out of 453, Jio 3 of 457 and VIL 5 of 450. On the Ganga route BSNL had 24 of 124 and VIL 9 of 133. In South Tripura, VIL had 24 of 148 and BSNL 22 of 176, against 2 of 254 for Jio and 9 of 221 for Airtel.
Call silence results, defined as silences of more than 3 seconds, were mixed. In Alipurduar-Cooch Behar, VIL had 27 out of 389 calls and Airtel 19 of 446, while BSNL had 5 of 352. In South Tripura, BSNL had 24 of 131, and VIL had the fewest at 6 of 99.
On average download speed, Jio recorded 154.29 Mbps in Alipurduar-Cooch Behar and 86.53 Mbps on the Ganga route, against BSNL's 11.81 and 5.95 Mbps. Airtel led in South Tripura at 88.67 Mbps, ahead of Jio's 46.11 Mbps and VIL's 35.19 Mbps; BSNL recorded 10.64 Mbps. On upload, Airtel led in Alipurduar-Cooch Behar (18.05 Mbps) and South Tripura (17.32 Mbps), and BSNL was lowest in all three areas.
The Alipurduar-Cooch Behar city drive passed through Birpara, Hasimara, Alipurduar, Tufanganj, Dinhata, Mathabhanga and Falakat, among other places. Hotspots included Alipurduar District Hospital, Buxa Tiger Reserve Forest, Jaldapara National Park and Kamakhyaguri Railway Station. Walk tests were held at Cooch Behar Government Medical College, the District Court of Alipurduar and two railway stations.
The Ganga drive covered Pujali, Diamond Harbour and Ghoramara, with hotspots at Outram Ghat, Kolkata, and LCT Jetty, Kachubaria. In South Tripura, the drive covered Belonia, Santirbazar, Sabroom and Manu Bazar, among others. Hotspots included District Hospital Santirbazar, courts in Belonia and Sabroom, and Trishna Wild Life Sanctuary. Maps annexed to the reports show coverage gaps, download and upload throughput, and the locations of dropped calls and call silences.
TRAI said the findings have been shared with the operators for further necessary action. Detailed reports are on the TRAI website, and clarifications can be sought from the TRAI Regional Office, Kolkata.
With reference to the Independent Drive Tests (IDTs) released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following information about the drive test findings in Alipurduar-Cooch Behar:
| Operator | Reported finding | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | BSNL | 26 dropped calls out of 424 established calls |
| 2. | Airtel | No dropped calls out of 453 established calls |
| 3. | Reliance Jio | 154.29 Mbps average download speed |
| 4. | Vodafone Idea | 3 dropped calls out of 457 established calls |
In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: In South Tripura, Airtel led among operators in average download speed.
Statement-II: Airtel recorded 88.67 Mbps in South Tripura, ahead of Jio's 46.11 Mbps and VIL's 35.19 Mbps.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
