TRAI Assesses Mobile Network Quality in Godda Constituency

The drive tests were carried out between 16 and 20 June 2026 under the supervision of TRAI's Regional Office in Kolkata.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of an Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted across the Godda Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand, providing consumers with an overview of the quality of mobile voice and data services offered by telecom operators in the region. The assessment covered parts of Deoghar, Godda and Dumka districts, helping evaluate real-world mobile network performance and encouraging service providers to improve coverage and customer experience.

Extensive Testing Across Urban and Public Locations

The drive tests were carried out between 16 and 20 June 2026 under the supervision of TRAI's Regional Office in Kolkata. The exercise covered 486.7 kilometres of city routes, 17 hotspot locations and 2.1 kilometres of walk tests. Testing was conducted using live voice calls and data sessions across 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks with SIM cards from all telecom service providers.

TRAI evaluated several key Quality of Service (QoS) indicators, including network coverage, call setup success, dropped calls, speech quality, download and upload speeds, latency and packet loss. The regulator noted that the results reflect network performance on the specific routes and locations tested during the survey period.

Coverage and Voice Performance

The drive test found differences in network coverage among operators. For voice services, Reliance Jio (RJIL) recorded the lowest number of weak signal samples, followed by Airtel, while BSNL and Vi (VIL) experienced larger coverage gaps on the tested routes.

Call reliability also varied. Airtel recorded no dropped calls out of 498 successfully connected calls, while Reliance Jio reported one dropped call out of 505 calls. BSNL recorded 23 dropped calls from 344 connected calls, and Vi reported 25 dropped calls from 402 connected calls.

The study also measured call silence incidents, where audio is interrupted for more than three seconds. Reliance Jio reported the fewest such instances, followed by Airtel, while BSNL and Vi recorded higher numbers during testing.

Data Speed Results

The assessment also measured mobile internet performance across the region. Reliance Jio delivered the highest average download speed of 182.22 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 90.75 Mbps. Vi recorded an average download speed of 24.73 Mbps, while BSNL registered 6.84 Mbps.

For upload speeds, Airtel and Vi each recorded an average of 8 Mbps, Reliance Jio achieved 7 Mbps, and BSNL recorded 3 Mbps.

Areas Covered During Testing

The city drive included locations such as Burhai, Madhupur, Margomunda, Karon, Sarath, Sikatia, Ghormara, Deoghar, Hansdiha, Nonihat, Poreyahat, Godda, Pathargama, Basantrai and Hanwara. Hotspot testing covered important public locations including AIIMS Deoghar, Shri Baba Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple, Trikut Parwat, Godda Bus Stand, Deoghar District Court, Sadar Hospitals in Deoghar and Godda, Madhupur College and Delhi Public School Deoghar, among others. Walk tests were conducted at Jasidih Railway Station and Madhupur Junction Railway Station to assess network performance in busy pedestrian environments.

TRAI said these independent drive tests provide consumers with transparent information on mobile service quality while encouraging telecom operators to strengthen network performance and improve service standards in the region.