JAMMU — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its latest Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings on Thursday, revealing significant disparities in mobile network performance across the Jammu & Kashmir Licensed Service Area. The report indicates that Reliance Jio (RJIL) and Airtel are leading the market in both voice and data quality, while state-run BSNL trails significantly in key performance metrics.

According to the assessment, RJIL recorded the highest average download speed at 216.24 Mbps across its 5G and 4G networks. Airtel followed with an average download speed of 114.63 Mbps. In contrast, Vodafone Idea (VIL) and BSNL lagged with average download speeds of 17.00 Mbps and 4.70 Mbps, respectively.

The disparity extended to upload speeds, where RJIL led with 21.60 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 18.74 Mbps. BSNL recorded the lowest average upload speed at just 2.01 Mbps.

The report also highlighted 5G performance in specific hotspot locations. RJIL achieved 5G download speeds of 197.79 Mbps, while Airtel recorded 116.92 Mbps in these high-density zones.

In the voice service category, RJIL demonstrated the most efficient performance with a Call Setup Time (CST) of just 0.80 seconds. Airtel and VIL followed with setup times of 1.56 seconds and 1.14 seconds, respectively, while BSNL was the slowest at 3.38 seconds.

Regarding call reliability, RJIL achieved the highest Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) at 98.39%. However, BSNL struggled with network stability, recording a Drop Call Rate (DCR) of 11.36%—significantly higher than Airtel (3.46%), VIL (2.69%), and RJIL (2.45%). Notably, VIL performed best in the Call Silence/Mute Rate category with a low rate of 0.99% on packet-switched networks.

The drive tests were conducted between December 8 and December 11, 2025, covering a wide range of environments to reflect real-world usage. The assessment spanned Urban and Transit Routes — 209 km of city drive tests and 43.7 km of highway driving; Railway Connectivity — A 654 km railway route evaluation between New Delhi and Katra; and High-Density Locations — Tests included major pilgrimage and tourist hubs such as the Katra Railway Station, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Patnitop, and bus stands in both Katra and Udhampur.

The findings have been communicated to all concerned Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).