TRAI releases mobile network performance report for MP highways and Bhopal

The tests, supervised by TRAI's Regional Office in Bhopal, covered more than 815 kilometres of city roads and highways, along with hotspot locations and walk tests in busy public areas.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has published the results of its latest Independent Drive Test (IDT), offering consumers a snapshot of mobile network performance across Bhopal city, the Indore–Neemuch Highway, and the Bilaspur–Ambikapur Highway. Conducted in June 2026, the assessment measured the real-world quality of voice and data services provided by major telecom operators.

The tests, supervised by TRAI's Regional Office in Bhopal, covered more than 815 kilometres of city roads and highways, along with hotspot locations and walk tests in busy public areas. TRAI said the exercise is intended to help consumers understand network performance while encouraging telecom companies to improve service quality.

Network quality tested across cities, highways and public spaces

The drive tests evaluated several key quality-of-service indicators, including signal coverage, call setup success, dropped calls, call silence, speech quality, download and upload speeds, latency, jitter and packet loss. Testing covered 301.2 km of city routes, 506.3 km of highways, nine hotspot locations, and 7.9 km of walk-test routes. Areas surveyed included major neighbourhoods in Bhopal, public locations such as AIIMS Bhopal, DB City Mall, Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal Airport and railway stations, along with the highways connecting Indore to Neemuch and Bilaspur to Ambikapur.

Jio records highest download speeds

Among the operators tested, Reliance Jio (RJIL) delivered the fastest average download speeds in all three locations. In Bhopal, Jio's average 5G download speed reached 291.53 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 44.25 Mbps, Vodafone Idea (Vi) at 63.96 Mbps on 4G, and BSNL at 10.68 Mbps on 4G. On the Indore–Neemuch Highway, Jio again led with 216.50 Mbps, while Airtel recorded 86.90 Mbps, Vi 21.44 Mbps, and BSNL 9.13 Mbps.

For the Bilaspur–Ambikapur Highway, Jio posted an average download speed of 150.95 Mbps, ahead of Airtel at 40.32 Mbps, Vi at 17.99 Mbps, and BSNL at 10.76 Mbps. Upload speed tests also showed strong performance from Jio and Airtel, while BSNL recorded the lowest average upload speeds across all test routes.

BSNL records more coverage gaps and dropped calls

TRAI's findings showed noticeable differences in network reliability among operators. BSNL recorded the highest number of coverage gaps and dropped calls across all three test areas. In Bhopal, BSNL registered 16 dropped calls out of 432 successful calls, compared with three for Airtel, one for Jio, and one for Vi. A similar trend was observed on both highway routes, where BSNL also reported the highest number of call silence incidents lasting more than three seconds.

TRAI noted that the findings reflect network performance only at the locations, dates and times when the tests were conducted. The regulator said publishing these results helps consumers make informed choices while encouraging telecom service providers to strengthen network coverage and improve overall service quality.