TRAI Assesses Mobile Network Quality Across Bhopal City & Indore to Neemuch via Ratlam and Mandsaur Highway & Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway.

Information Note to the Press (Press Release No 98 /2026)

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

www.trai.gov.in

Bhopal, July 2026

For Immediate Release

TRAI Assesses Mobile Network Quality Across Bhopal City, Indore to Neemuch Highway and Bilaspur

to Ambikapur Highway. City includes Bairagarh, Lalghati, Gandhinagar, Karond, Bhanpur, JP Nagar,

Kali Basti, Khusipura, Ashoka Garden, Govindpura, Minal Residency, Indrapuri, Ayodhya Nagar, Piplani,

Awadh Puri, Saket Nagar, Pipaliya Kujadgarh, Indra Nagar, Jhalar Kalan, Misrod, Arera Colony,

Maharana Pratap Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Char Imli, Lalita Nagar, Dr. Ambedkar Nagar and Ratibad etc.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released findings of Independent Drive

Test (IDT) conducted through its appointed agency across Bhopal City, Indore to Neemuch Highway and

Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway under MP LSA, during the month of June 2026, for information of

general telecom consumers. The purpose of this drive test is to assess and verify real time quality of

mobile network services (both voice & data) provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). The

performance of TSPs for key Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, captured during IDT are published to

inform Consumers and encourage TSPs to improve their services. These IDTs have been designed to

capture on ground mobile network performance of all TSPs across diverse usages environment like cities,

hotspots, public transport hubs, etc. `

2. These tests were conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office Bhopal. The

observations presented in drive test reports represent the performance of the TSPs on the area/ route under

test on the day/ time of conducting the drive test.

3. The drive tests conducted across City drive – 301.2 KMs, Hotspot locations - 9, Walk Test – 7.9

KMs, Highway -506.3 KMs, in Bhopal City & Indore to Neemuch via Ratlam and Mandsaur Highway &

Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway from 8th June 2026 to 12th June 2026 & 16th June 2026 in Madhya

Pradesh LSA.

4. Drive Test Route Map: The following map provides overview of drive test routes indicating

City drive, Inter-operator calling, Hotspots and Walk tests, as per the legends shown on the map: -

5. Key Parameters Assessed

a) Coverage Gap: Percentage of samples, for which signal strength observed less than the

minimum prescribed signal strength for respective technology (2G/ 3G/ 4G/ 5G).

b) Voice Services: Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time,

Call Silence (Mute) Rate, Speech Quality (MOS).

c) Call Silence (Mute) Instance: Number of call silence (Mute) instance occurred during the

calls.

d) Data Servies: Download/ Upload Throughput, Latency, Jitter, Packet Drop Rate

6. The overall mobile network performance in Bhopal City and Indore to Neemuch Highway and

Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway route city for the key parameters has been summarised below: -

a) Coverage Gap - The signal strength observed during voice testing on the drive test route in

auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G), measured as the number of samples having poor signal

strength out of the total samples collected, was 293/ 55360 for Airtel, 1532/ 54034 for

BSNL, 131/ 51838 for RJIL and 473/ 55208 for VIL for Bhopal city and 442/ 23802 for

Airtel, 7023/ 22818 for BSNL, 822/ 25022 for RJIL and 557/ 23734 for VIL for Indore to

Neemuch Highway and 3293/ 17114 for Airtel, 5201/ 15288 for BSNL, 2114/ 17806 for

RJIL and 4548/ 14622 for VIL for Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway. Details of the coverage

gaps have been provided in the map Annexed.

b) Dropped Calls - Dropped calls, measured as the number of dropped calls out of the number

of successfully established calls, were 3/ 494 for Airtel, 16/ 432 for BSNL, 1/ 495 for RJIL

and 1/ 494 for VIL for Bhopal city and 1/ 120 for Airtel, 14/ 116 for BSNL, 0/ 125 for RJIL

and 1/ 118 for VIL for Indore to Neemuch Highway and 4/ 86 for Airtel, 14/ 71 for BSNL,

2/ 90 for RJIL and 6/ 74 for VIL for Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway. Details of the dropped

call locations have been provided in the map Annexed.

c) Call Silence Instance - Call silence instances, measured as the total number of silence

instances observed for > 3 seconds out of the total calls established, were 4/ 476 for Airtel,

21/ 419 for BSNL, 3/ 478 for RJIL and 4/ 481 for VIL for Bhopal city and 0/ 101 for Airtel,

10/ 117 for BSNL, 1/ 101 for RJIL and 4/ 101 for VIL for Indore to Neemuch Highway and

7/ 77 for Airtel, 8/ 87 for BSNL, 4/ 78 for RJIL and 3/ 63 for VIL for Bilaspur to Ambikapur

Highway. Details of the call silence instance locations have been provided in the map

Annexed.

d) Data Download and Upload Throughput:

i) Data Download performance (Overall): Average download speed was observed as

44.25 Mbps for Airtel (5G), 10.68 Mbps for BSNL (4G), 291.53 Mbps for RJIL (5G)

and 63.96 Mbps for VIL (4G) for Bhopal city and 86.90 Mbps for Airtel (5G), 9.13

Mbps for BSNL (4G), 216.50 Mbps for RJIL (5G) and 21.44 Mbps for VIL (4G) for

Indore to Neemuch Highway and 40.32 Mbps for Airtel (5G), 10.76 Mbps for BSNL

(4G), 150.95 Mbps for RJIL (5G) and 17.99 Mbps for VIL (4G) for Bilaspur to

Ambikapur Highway. Detail of Download throughput has been provided in the map

Annexed.

ii) Data Upload performance (Overall): Average upload speed was observed as 15.49

Mbps for Airtel (5G), 7.20 Mbps for BSNL (4G), 34.92 Mbps for RJIL (5G) and 12.50

Mbps for VIL (5G) for Bhopal city and 20.84 Mbps for Airtel (5G), 5.80 Mbps for

BSNL (4G), 19.30 Mbps for RJIL (5G) and 10.71 Mbps for VIL (4G) for Indore to

Neemuch Highway and 11.53 Mbps for Airtel (5G), 4.99 Mbps for BSNL (4G), 15.93

Mbps for RJIL (5G) and 12.06 Mbps for VIL (4G) for Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway.

Detail of Upload throughput has been provided in the map Annexed.

Locations of Dropped Calls and Call Silence instances can be seen by clicking red dot on

the map Annexed.

7. Details of drive test route and area covered during the IDT is as under: -

a) City - The areas covered in the city drive are Bairagarh, Lalghati, Gandhinagar, Karond,

Bhanpur, JP Nagar, Kali Basti, Khusipura, Ashoka Garden, Govindpura, Minal Residency,

Indrapuri, Ayodhya Nagar, Piplani, Awadh Puri, Saket Nagar, Pipaliya Kujadgarh, Indra

Nagar, Jhalar Kalan, Misrod, Arera Colony, Maharana Pratap Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Char

Imli, Lalita Nagar, Dr. Ambedkar Nagar and Ratibad etc.in Bhopal City.

b) Hotspot - The hot spot locations, capturing stationary user experience, are AIIMS, Bhopal

New Market, DB City Mall, Hamidia Hospital, IISER Bhopal, M. P. Water and Land

Management Institute, Mandideep Bus Stand, NLIU Bhopal & TRAI Regional Office

Bhopal.

c) Walk Test - The walk tests conducted on 10th & 11th June 2026, covered Bhopal Airport,

Bhopal Railway Station, Chowk Bazaar Peer Gate Area & RKMP Railway Station capturing

mobile network behaviour in crowded pedestrian environments.

d) Highway Route - Indore to Neemuch via Ratlam and Mandsaur passing through Ghatabillod,

Nagda, Badnawar, Dharad, Jaora, mandsor & Bhat kheda and Bilaspur to Ambikapur passing

through Tekar, Baksahi, Potapani, Chaitma, Iraf, Katghora, Tanakhar, Dadar, Barpali, Lepara,

Bango, Sarbhoka, Chotiya, Moraga, Premnagar, Udaipur and Jajga etc.

Annexure

1. Bhopal:

a) Coverage Gap - The coverage distribution found less than the minimum specified signal strength

for the drive test route in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) during voice testing, is as below: -

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Total Number of Samples captured on Drive test route 55360 54034 51838 55208

Number of Samples having poor signal strength 293 1532 131 473

Number of Samples having limited service (No Coverage) 0 505 0 0

Note: Signal strength has been considered poor if it falls below −110 dBm for 5G & 4G, −90 dBm for

3G, and −85 dBm for 2G.

Coverage Gap observed

VIL

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

b) Dropped Calls - The TSP-wise details of dropped calls in auto-selection mode (5G/ 4G/ 3G/ 2G)

are as below:

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Number of successful Calls Established 494 432 495 494

Number of dropped Calls 3 16 1 1

Locations of Dropped Calls

Note: Dropped calls locations are shown in red colour and which can be clicked to know the exact

location (latitude and longitude) on the maps.

RJIL

BSNL

VIL

AIRTEL

c) Call Silence Instance - The TSP-wise details of Call silence instance in Auto-selection mode

(5G/4G) are as below:

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Call Established

(within service provider network) 476 419 478 481

Number of silences calls for >3 Sec 4 21 3 4

Total number of silence instances for >3 Sec 4 25 3 4

Locations of Call Silence Instance

Note: Call silence instances are shown in red colour and which can be clicked to know the exact

location (latitude and longitude) on the map.

AIRTEL BSNL

VILRJIL

d) Data Download and Upload throughput: The TSP-wise details of Average Download (DL) and

Upload (UL) throughput against declared typical DL/UL Throughput for month, in Auto-selection

mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) are as below:

(i) Download Throughput

Parameter Measured

AIRTEL

(upto 5G)

BSNL

(upto 4G)

RJIL

(upto 5G)

VIL

(upto 5G)

Typical Download throughput

declared by TSP (Mbits/s) 18.53 5.00 15.00 15.00

Average Download

Throughput measured during

IDT

(Mbits/s) 44.25 10.68 291.53 63.96

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL VIL

(ii) Upload Throughput

Parameter Measured

AIRTEL

(upto 5G)

BSNL

(upto 4G)

RJIL

(upto 5G)

VIL

(upto 5G)

Typical upload throughput

declared by TSP (Mbits/s) 2.84 3.00 7.00 8.00

Average Upload Throughput

measured during IDT (Mbits/s) 15.49 7.20 34.92 12.50

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL VIL

2. Indore to Neemuch via Ratlam and Mandsaur Highway:

a) Coverage Gap - The coverage distribution found less than the minimum specified signal strength

for the drive test route in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) during voice testing, is as below: -

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Total Number of Samples captured on Drive test route 23802 22818 25022 23734

Number of Samples having poor signal strength 442 7023 822 557

Number of Samples having limited service (No Coverage) 0 373 0 0

Note: Signal strength has been considered poor if it falls below −110 dBm for 5G & 4G, −90 dBm for

3G, and −85 dBm for 2G.

Coverage Gap observed

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

VIL

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL

b) Dropped Calls - The TSP-wise details of dropped calls in auto-selection mode (5G/ 4G/ 3G/ 2G)

are as below:

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Number of successful Calls Established 120 116 125 118

Number of dropped Calls 1 14 0 1

Locations of Dropped Calls

Note: Dropped calls locations are shown in red colour and which can be clicked to know the exact

location (latitude and longitude) on the maps.

BSNL

VIL

AIRTEL

c) Call Silence Instance - The TSP-wise details of Call silence instance in Auto-selection mode

(5G/4G) are as below:

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Call Established

(within service provider network) 101 117 101 101

Number of silences calls for >3 Sec 0 10 1 4

Total number of silence instances for >3 Sec 0 11 1 4

Locations of Call Silence Instance

Note: Call silence instances are shown in red colour and which can be clicked to know the exact

location (latitude and longitude) on the map.

BSNL

VIL

RJIL

d) Data Download and Upload throughput: The TSP-wise details of Average Download (DL) and

Upload (UL) throughput against declared typical DL/UL Throughput for month, in Auto-selection

mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) are as below:

(i) Download Throughput

Parameter Measured

AIRTEL

(upto 5G)

BSNL

(upto 4G)

RJIL

(upto 5G)

VIL

(upto 5G)

Typical Download throughput

declared by TSP (Mbits/s) 18.53 5.00 15.00 15.00

Average Download

Throughput measured during

IDT

(Mbits/s) 86.90 9.13 216.50 21.44

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL VIL

(ii) Upload Throughput

Parameter Measured

AIRTEL

(upto 5G)

BSNL

(upto 4G)

RJIL

(upto 5G)

VIL

(upto 5G)

Typical upload throughput

declared by TSP (Mbits/s) 2.84 3.00 7.00 8.00

Average Upload Throughput

measured during IDT (Mbits/s) 20.84 5.80 19.30 10.71

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL VIL

3. Bilaspur to Ambikapur Highway:

a) Coverage Gap – The coverage distribution found less than the minimum specified signal

strength for the drive test route in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) during voice testing, is

as below:

Note: Signal strength has been considered poor if it falls below −110 dBm for 5G & 4G, −90 dBm

for 3G, and −85 dBm for 2G.

Coverage Gap observed

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Total Number of Samples captured on Drive test route 17114 15288 17806 14622

Number of Samples having poor signal strength 3293 5201 2114 4548

Number of Samples having limited service (No Coverage) 342 1297 17 903

BSNL

VIL

AIRTEL

RJIL

b) Dropped Calls - The TSP-wise details of dropped calls in auto-selection mode (5G/ 4G/ 3G/ 2G)

are as below:

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Number of successful Calls Established 86 71 90 74

Number of dropped Calls 4 14 2 6

Locations of Dropped Calls

Note: Dropped calls locations are shown in red colour and which can be clicked to know the exact

location (latitude and longitude) on the map.

VILRJIL

AIRTEL BSNL

c) Call Silence Instance - The TSP-wise details of Call silence instance in Auto-selection mode

(5G/4G) are as below:

Parameter AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL

Call Established

(within service provider network) 77 87 78 63

Number of silences calls for >3 Sec 7 8 4 3

Total number of silence instances for >3 Sec 10 14 7 3

Locations of Call Silence Instance

Note: Call silence instances are shown in red colour and which can be clicked to know the exact

location (latitude and longitude) on the map.

AIRTEL BSNL

RJIL VIL

d) Data Download and Upload throughput: The TSP-wise details of Average Download (DL)

and Upload (UL) throughput against declared typical DL/UL Throughput for month, in Auto-

selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) are as below:

(i) Download Throughput

Parameter Measured

AIRTEL

(upto 5G)

BSNL

(upto 4G)

RJIL

(upto 5G)

VIL

(upto 4G)

Typical Download throughput

declared by TSP (Mbits/s) 18.53 5.00 15.00 15.00

Average Download

Throughput measured during

IDT

(Mbits/s) 40.32 10.76 150.95 17.99

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

BSNLAIRTEL

RJIL VIL

(ii) Upload Throughput

Note: Plot is based on Dynamic Drive Test results only.

Parameter Measured

AIRTEL

(upto 5G)

BSNL

(upto 4G)

RJIL

(upto 5G)

VIL

(upto 4G)

Typical upload throughput

declared by TSP (Mbits/s) 2.84 3.00 7.00 8.00

Average Upload Throughput

measured during IDT (Mbits/s) 11.53 4.99 15.93 12.06

BSNLAIRTEL

RJIL VIL