The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) conducted independent drive tests across key locations in the North East Licensed Service Area during June, covering urban centres in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, as well as the highway route between Itanagar and the Bumla Pass (Tawang) along National Highway 13. The tests were carried out under the supervision of TRAI’s regional office in Kolkata, according to an official release (PIB Delhi reported).
Between 2 and 23 June 2025, TRAI teams covered city stretches spanning 270.3 km, highway sections totalling 526.6 km, 28 hotspot locations, and 1 km of walk tests across Itanagar and Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh, Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland, and NH‑13 between Itanagar and Bumla Pass. The tests assessed 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies to reflect experiences across different devices and networks (PIB Delhi reported).
Operators were evaluated on both voice and data parameters. For voice, metrics included call setup success rate, drop call rate, call setup time, silent calls, MOS (Mean Opinion Score), and coverage. For data, the focus was on download/upload throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss, and video streaming delay (PIB Delhi reported).
In auto‑selection mode (across 5G/4G/3G/2G), call setup success was highest for Airtel at 90.11%, followed by RJIL at 89.73%, VIL (Vodafone Idea Limited) at 67.18%, and BSNL at 49.45%. Drop call rate was lowest on Airtel (1.23%), followed by RJIL (2.17%), VIL (3.68%), and highest on BSNL (6.41%) (PIB Delhi reported). Call setup times averaged 4.57 seconds for Airtel, 0.87 seconds for RJIL, 2.31 seconds for VIL, and 3.22 seconds for BSNL. MOS scores were highest for VIL (4.22) and lowest for BSNL (2.57) (PIB Delhi reported).
On data performance, average download speeds were strongest with RJIL at 91.09 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 80.01 Mbps, VIL at 20.89 Mbps, and BSNL trailing at 3.27 Mbps. Upload speeds similarly ranked with Airtel leading at 15.84 Mbps, RJIL at 8.30 Mbps, VIL at 6.93 Mbps, and BSNL at 3.65 Mbps (PIB Delhi reported).
At hotspot locations, Airtel’s 5G download reached 155.38 Mbps with an upload rate of 44.38 Mbps, while RJIL recorded a 5G peak download of 299.92 Mbps and 25.16 Mbps for upload. BSNL and VIL delivered lower results in both metrics (PIB Delhi reported).
TRAI confirmed that equipment and testing protocols were standardised as per its recommendations, and results have already been shared with respective service providers. The full report is publicly available on TRAI’s website (PIB Delhi reported).
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