TRAI Drive Test Finds Jio Fastest on Data, Airtel Strong on Call Reliability in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted across Mumbai, covering the Mumbai Licensed Service Area (LSA). The assessment, carried out in November 2025, evaluated real-world mobile network performance across diverse usage environments, including urban zones, institutional hotspots, public transport hubs and high-speed corridors.

According to the press release issued by the Ministry of Communications, the drive tests were conducted between November 3 and November 7, 2025, under the supervision of the TRAI regional office, Bengaluru. The assessment covered a total distance of 320.2 km, including 192.4 km of city drive, 7 hotspot locations, 3.1 km of walk tests, a 9.7 km coastal drive and 115 km along local railway routes. Network performance was evaluated across 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies, reflecting the service experience of users with different handset capabilities. The findings have been intimated to all telecom service providers for necessary action.

The assessment focused on key quality-of-service parameters for voice and data services. For voice services, parameters such as call setup success rate, call setup time, drop call rate, call silence or mute rate, mean opinion score and coverage were evaluated. Data services were assessed on download and upload throughput, latency, jitter, packet drop rate and video streaming delay.

In terms of voice performance, Airtel, MTNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea recorded call setup success rates of 99.62 per cent, 28.52 per cent, 99.81 per cent and 96.07 per cent respectively in auto-selection mode across 5G, 4G, 3G and 2G networks. Drop call rates stood at 0.00 per cent for Airtel, 22.47 per cent for MTNL, 0.56 per cent for Reliance Jio and 6.43 per cent for Vodafone Idea. Mean opinion scores, which represent typical voice quality, were recorded at 3.91 for Airtel, 2.67 for MTNL, 3.80 for Reliance Jio and 4.44 for Vodafone Idea.

On the data front, Reliance Jio emerged as the fastest network in terms of average download speeds, recording 221.34 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 84.99 Mbps and Vodafone Idea at 49.79 Mbps. MTNL, operating only on 2G and 3G technologies, recorded an average download speed of 4.05 Mbps. Average upload speeds were highest for Reliance Jio at 32.82 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 25.86 Mbps and Vodafone Idea at 18.94 Mbps. Latency performance showed Vodafone Idea with the lowest 50th percentile latency at 14.91 milliseconds, followed by Reliance Jio at 21.36 milliseconds.

The assessment included high-density neighbourhoods such as Colaba, Dadar, Dharavi, Bandra East, Kurla, Chembur, Ghatkopar West and Mankhurd, along with key public locations including CSMT railway station, Ghatkopar railway station, Sion Circle, major hospitals and metro stations. Walk tests were conducted at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Tata Memorial Hospital and Wadala station, while coastal drive tests covered the Gateway of India to Karanja route.

TRAI stated that the tests were carried out using calibrated equipment and standardised protocols in real-time environments. Detailed reports are available on the TRAI website for public reference.