TRAI Drive Tests Reveal Across Palampur and Chandigarh-Palampur Highway

TRAI confirmed that the results of the independent drive tests have been shared with the respective telecom service providers for appropriate action.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of an Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted across Palampur city and the Chandigarh-to-Palampur highway route in Himachal Pradesh, providing consumers with a detailed assessment of mobile network performance across the region.

The tests, carried out during March 2026, evaluated the quality of voice and data services offered by major telecom service providers (TSPs), including Airtel, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) and Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL).

According to TRAI, the objective of the exercise was to assess real-time network performance and verify the quality of services being delivered to consumers in both urban and highway environments. The findings are intended to inform consumers while encouraging telecom operators to improve service quality in areas where deficiencies are identified.

Extensive Testing Conducted Across City and Highway Routes

The independent drive tests were conducted between 10 March and 13 March 2026 under the supervision of TRAI's Regional Office in Delhi.

The assessment covered:

• 197.4 kilometres of city driving routes.

• Five hotspot locations.

• 1.6 kilometres of walk testing.

• 242.1 kilometres along the Chandigarh-to-Palampur highway route.

The testing was designed to evaluate mobile network performance across a variety of real-world usage environments, including cities, markets, public areas, highways and transportation corridors.

During the tests, voice and data sessions were established using SIM cards from all participating telecom operators across 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks. Advanced testing devices and software systems were used to monitor network performance in real time.

Key Network Quality Parameters Evaluated

TRAI assessed several critical quality-of-service indicators during the drive tests.

These included:

Coverage Gap

Coverage gap measures the percentage of locations where signal strength falls below prescribed minimum levels for the respective network technologies.

Voice Service Quality

Voice performance indicators included:

• Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR).

• Drop Call Rate (DCR).

• Call Setup Time.

• Speech Quality.

• Call Silence Rate.

Data Performance

Data quality measurements included:

• Download speeds.

• Upload speeds.

• Latency.

• Jitter.

• Packet loss rates.

These parameters provide a comprehensive picture of the user experience across different operators and locations.

Airtel and Jio Lead Coverage Performance in Palampur

The drive tests revealed significant differences in network coverage among operators across Palampur city and surrounding areas.

Coverage Gap Results in Palampur

The number of samples showing poor signal strength during voice testing were:

• Airtel: 918 out of 30,794 samples.

• BSNL: 15,526 out of 29,977 samples.

• Jio (RJIL): 1,358 out of 30,530 samples.

• Vodafone Idea (VIL): 4,287 out of 30,018 samples.

The results indicate that Airtel and Jio recorded the lowest number of poor signal samples, while BSNL experienced the largest coverage gap in the areas tested.

TRAI noted that signal strength was considered poor when it fell below:

• −110 dBm for 4G and 5G.

• −90 dBm for 3G.

• −85 dBm for 2G networks.

Jio Records Lowest Dropped Calls

Dropped calls remain one of the most important indicators of network reliability.

The Palampur city tests recorded the following dropped-call performance:

• Airtel: 2 dropped calls out of 277 successfully established calls.

• BSNL: 12 dropped calls out of 266 calls.

• Jio: 1 dropped call out of 279 calls.

• Vodafone Idea: 9 dropped calls out of 271 calls.

Jio recorded the lowest number of dropped calls, followed closely by Airtel.

BSNL experienced the highest number of call drops among the operators tested.

Call Silence Performance Assessed

TRAI also measured call silence incidents, which occur when audio is interrupted for more than three seconds during a conversation.

In Palampur city, the results were:

• Airtel: 5 silence incidents.

• Jio: 3 silence incidents.

• Vodafone Idea: 10 silence incidents.

• BSNL: Not applicable.

The results suggest that Jio delivered the most consistent voice quality among operators participating in the test.

Jio Delivers Fastest Download Speeds in Palampur

Data performance emerged as another area where significant differences were observed between service providers.

Download Speeds

Average download speeds recorded in Palampur were:

• Airtel: 155.87 Mbps.

• BSNL: 6.95 Mbps.

• Jio: 194.17 Mbps.

• Vodafone Idea: 12.66 Mbps.

Jio achieved the highest average download speed, approaching 200 Mbps, while Airtel also delivered strong performance.

BSNL and Vodafone Idea recorded significantly lower download speeds.

Upload Speeds

Average upload speeds recorded were:

• Airtel: 16.40 Mbps.

• BSNL: 2.52 Mbps.

• Jio: 16.73 Mbps.

• Vodafone Idea: 4.00 Mbps.

Jio narrowly outperformed Airtel in upload performance, while BSNL recorded the slowest upload speeds.

Highway Route Shows Similar Trends

The drive test along the Chandigarh-to-Palampur highway route revealed similar performance patterns.

Coverage Performance

Poor signal samples recorded on the highway route were:

• Airtel: 372 out of 24,378 samples.

• BSNL: 7,641 out of 23,479 samples.

• Jio: 483 out of 24,520 samples.

• Vodafone Idea: 4,269 out of 23,713 samples.

Airtel delivered the strongest overall coverage performance on the highway, followed closely by Jio.

BSNL again recorded the highest number of weak-signal samples.

Call Reliability on Highway Routes

Dropped-call results along the Chandigarh-Palampur route were:

• Airtel: 2 dropped calls out of 122 calls.

• BSNL: 14 dropped calls out of 130 calls.

• Jio: 1 dropped call out of 122 calls.

• Vodafone Idea: 12 dropped calls out of 122 calls.

Jio again achieved the lowest drop-call count, reinforcing its strong voice-service performance.

Call Silence Results

The highway tests recorded:

• Airtel: 11 silence incidents.

• Jio: No silence incidents recorded.

• Vodafone Idea: 11 silence incidents.

• BSNL: Not applicable.

Jio stood out as the only operator that recorded zero call-silence incidents during the highway testing.

Jio and Airtel Dominate Highway Data Speeds

The highway drive tests also highlighted significant differences in data performance.

Download Performance

Average download speeds recorded were:

• Airtel: 145.87 Mbps.

• BSNL: 10.40 Mbps.

• Jio: 199.45 Mbps.

• Vodafone Idea: 11.56 Mbps.

Jio delivered the highest average download speed on the route, nearly reaching 200 Mbps.

Upload Performance

Average upload speeds recorded were:

• Airtel: 22.49 Mbps.

• BSNL: 3.80 Mbps.

• Jio: 21.97 Mbps.

• Vodafone Idea: 6.35 Mbps.

Airtel narrowly led upload performance, with Jio closely behind.

Wide Range of Locations Covered

The city drive test covered numerous locations across Palampur and neighbouring areas, including:

• Palampur.

• Maranda.

• Bhawarna Khas.

• Panchrukhi.

• Paprola.

• Baijnath.

• Nagri.

• Malan.

• Gopalpur.

• Sukairi.

• Kandi.

• Saperu.

The highway route included:

• Bilaspur.

• Ghumarwin.

• Hamirpur.

• Bhawarna.

Hotspot testing was conducted at:

• Baijnath Temple.

• Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Krishi Vishwavidyalaya.

• Civil Court Complex, Palampur.

• Palampur Bus Stand.

• Palampur Market.

Walk testing was carried out in Palampur Main Market to assess network performance in crowded pedestrian environments.

Findings Shared With Telecom Operators

TRAI confirmed that the results of the independent drive tests have been shared with the respective telecom service providers for appropriate action.

The regulator said the purpose of publishing the findings is to improve transparency and encourage network operators to enhance service quality where performance gaps have been identified.

The assessment highlights the growing importance of reliable connectivity as consumers increasingly depend on mobile networks for communication, work, education and digital services.

The detailed reports remain available on TRAI's official website for public access and review.