New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has published the results of its latest Independent Drive Test (IDT) in Delhi, offering a detailed snapshot of mobile network performance across the capital earlier this year.
The tests, conducted between January 6 and 9, covered over 249 km of city routes along with hotspot locations and pedestrian-heavy zones. Networks of Bharti Airtel, MTNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea were assessed across 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies.
Voice Performance: MTNL Trails on Key Metrics
In terms of call setup success rate (CSSR), Airtel and Vodafone Idea recorded 100%, while Reliance Jio reported 99.22%. MTNL lagged at 82.82%, significantly below peers.
Drop call rates showed a similar trend. Vodafone Idea reported zero drop calls during testing, while Airtel and Jio posted 0.39% and 0.53% respectively. MTNL’s drop call rate stood at 6.34%, far higher than other operators.
Call setup time was quickest on Vodafone Idea (0.56 seconds) and Jio (0.63 seconds), followed by Airtel (0.79 seconds). MTNL again trailed at 3.20 seconds.
On voice quality, measured through Mean Opinion Score (MOS), Jio led with 4.46, followed by Vodafone Idea (4.40) and Airtel (4.03). MTNL recorded a MOS of 2.75.
Data Speeds: Jio Leads 5G Download Performance
On data performance, Reliance Jio recorded the highest average download speed at 266.99 Mbps (5G/4G combined), followed by Airtel at 231.97 Mbps. Vodafone Idea reported 24.55 Mbps, while MTNL’s 3G network averaged 3.83 Mbps.
Upload speeds showed Airtel leading at 31.39 Mbps, with Jio at 23.93 Mbps and Vodafone Idea at 11 Mbps. MTNL recorded 1.04 Mbps.
Latency levels for Airtel and Jio were comparable at around 20 ms (50th percentile), while Vodafone Idea’s latency was higher at nearly 39 ms.
Hotspot testing reflected sharper differences in 5G performance. Jio recorded peak 5G download speeds of 361.84 Mbps at selected locations, while Airtel reported 214.10 Mbps. Vodafone Idea’s 5G download speed in hotspots stood at 44.13 Mbps. MTNL did not register 4G or 5G presence during the tests.
Areas Covered
The assessment spanned dense neighbourhoods including Shahdara, Dilshad Garden, Mayur Vihar, Anand Vihar and Patparganj. High-footfall sites such as Anand Vihar Railway Station, ISBT, Shahdara Metro Station and Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple were also covered through walk tests.
TRAI said the findings have been shared with the telecom service providers concerned. The regulator conducts such drive tests periodically to capture real-time user experience across cities.
For Delhi subscribers, the results indicate robust 5G performance by private operators, while MTNL’s legacy network continues to struggle on both voice and data metrics.