TRAI Independent Drive Test (IDT) Report: November 2024 Quality of Service Assessment in Five Indian Cities

The observations and results presented in this report provide valuable insights into the performance and reliability of telecom services in the tested regions.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), through its empanelled agency, conducted comprehensive Independent Drive Tests (IDT) in five prominent cities across India in November 2024. The cities covered in this assessment include:

1. Mysuru City (Karnataka Licensed Service Area - LSA)
2. Dharamshala City (Himachal Pradesh LSA)
3. Chennai City (Tamil Nadu LSA)
4. Chandigarh City (Punjab LSA)
5. Kolkata City (Kolkata LSA)

The primary objective of these drive tests was to evaluate the quality of service (QoS) provided by major Cellular Mobile Telephone Service providers for both voice and data services. The service providers evaluated include:

• M/s Bharti Airtel Ltd.
• M/s BSNL/MTNL
• M/s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
• M/s Vodafone Idea Ltd.

These tests were carried out in various Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) utilizing multiple technologies, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. The performance metrics were recorded based on real-time data collected during the tests along specific routes and areas within the cities, reflecting the network conditions at the time of testing.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Assessed:

Voice Services:

1. Call Setup Success Rate: Measures the ability of the network to establish a call successfully.
2. Drop Call Rate (DCR): Percentage of calls that were disconnected unexpectedly.
3. Speech Quality (MOS - Mean Opinion Score): Subjective assessment of voice clarity.
4. Downlink & Uplink Packet (Voice) Drop Rate: Percentage of voice packets lost during transmission.
5. Call Silence Rate: Frequency of silent periods during active calls.
6. Coverage (% Signal Strength): The percentage of the area with adequate signal strength.

Data Services:

1. Data Throughput (Downlink & Uplink): The speed at which data is downloaded and uploaded.
2. Packet Drop Rate (Downlink & Uplink): Frequency of data packet loss during transmission.
3. Video Streaming Delay: Lag experienced while streaming video content.
4. Latency: Time taken for data to travel from the source to the destination.
5. Jitter: Variability in data packet arrival times, affecting streaming and voice quality.

The observations and results presented in this report provide valuable insights into the performance and reliability of telecom services in the tested regions. They are indicative of the network conditions at specific times and locations during the testing period. These findings will aid in identifying areas requiring improvements and ensuring better service quality for consumers.