Guwahati: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the results of its Independent Drive Test (IDT) for the Northeast Licensed Service Area, revealing that Reliance Jio leads in overall data performance.
The comprehensive tests, conducted throughout June 2025 across extensive routes in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, evaluated network performance in diverse urban, rural, and highway environments.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
The overall data performance assessment found that Jio emerged as the leader with an average download speed of 91.09 Mbps (5G/4G), closely followed by Airtel with 80.01 Mbps (5G/4G/2G). BSNL and VIL recorded much lower speeds, at 3.27 Mbps and 20.89 Mbps, respectively.
In terms of data performance, the test results highlighted a significant disparity among the providers. While Jio and Airtel dominated overall download speeds, BSNL and VIL lagged considerably.
The tests also evaluated performance in specific “hotspot” locations, where 5G services showed impressive results. Jio recorded a peak 5G download speed of 299.92 Mbps, and Airtel achieved a peak 5G download speed of 155.38 Mbps. In upload speeds, however, Airtel outperformed Jio in hotspots, recording 44.38 Mbps compared to Jio’s 25.16 Mbps.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
For voice services, Airtel demonstrated the best performance across several key metrics. Airtel led in Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) with a rate of 90.11%, slightly ahead of Jio’s 89.73%. BSNL and VIL had significantly lower rates at 49.45% and 67.18%, respectively.
Airtel also had the lowest Drop Call Rate (DCR) at just 1.23%, indicating superior call stability. Jio and VIL had higher DCRs of 2.17% and 3.68%, while BSNL had the highest at 6.41%.
VIL surprisingly led in voice quality with an average Mean Opinion Score (MOS) of 4.22, followed by Airtel at 3.96 and Jio at 3.74. BSNL’s MOS was a low 2.57.
The TRAI teams conducted detailed tests from June 2nd to June 23rd, 2025. The drive tests covered a total of 270.3 km of city routes in Itanagar, Naharlagun, Dimapur, and Kohima, as well as a 526.6 km highway test from Itanagar to Bumla Pass (Tawang) along NH-13.
The assessment also included 28 hotspot locations and a 1 km walk test to evaluate network performance in various real-world scenarios. The findings of the IDT have been communicated to all the concerned Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).