The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted across Mumbai during June 2026, providing consumers with an objective assessment of the quality of mobile services offered by telecom operators.
The drive tests were carried out between June 10 and June 12, 2026, covering 204.3 km of city roads and seven major hotspot locations. The exercise evaluated the real-world performance of Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio (RJIL), Vodafone Idea (Vi), and MTNL across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks.
The city drive included several prominent locations across Mumbai, including Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Mahim, Dadar, Sion, Antop Hill, Worli, Parel, Sewri, Haji Ali, Mumbai Central, Byculla, Malabar Hill, Girgaon, Mazgaon, and Churchgate.
Hotspot locations, capturing stationary user experience, are:
Vodafone Idea delivered the strongest network coverage during the drive test, recording just 5 poor signal samples out of 54,511 observations.
The remaining operators reported:
| Operator | Poor Signal Samples |
|---|---|
| Vodafone Idea | 5 / 54,511 |
| Airtel | 102 / 54,857 |
| Reliance Jio | 144 / 54,576 |
| MTNL | 17,877 / 23,461 |
MTNL also experienced 7,325 instances of no network coverage, significantly underperforming compared to private operators.
Reliance Jio delivered the most reliable voice service by completing the test without a single dropped call.
| Operator | Dropped Calls |
| Reliance Jio | 0 / 489 |
| Airtel | 1 / 490 |
| Vodafone Idea | 1 / 491 |
| MTNL | 28 / 203 |
The results indicate that Jio provided the most consistent calling experience during the test period, while Airtel and Vi also maintained very low call drop rates.
TRAI also measured call silence events, where users experience silence for more than three seconds despite the call remaining connected.
Jio and Vi recorded the best performance on this parameter.
Reliance Jio emerged as the fastest network in Mumbai, recording the highest average download and upload speeds.
Average Download Speed:
| Operator | Speed |
| Reliance Jio | 237.81 Mbps |
| Airtel | 93.76 Mbps |
| Vodafone Idea | 70.69 Mbps |
| MTNL | Not Available |
Average Upload Speed:
| Operator | Speed |
| Reliance Jio | 40.92 Mbps |
| Airtel | 25.92 Mbps |
| Vodafone Idea | 25.57 Mbps |
| MTNL | Not Available |
Jio's average download speed was more than twice that of Airtel and substantially ahead of Vodafone Idea.
The June 2026 Independent Drive Test highlights a clear distinction among operators across different performance metrics.
TRAI conducts Independent Drive Tests to measure actual mobile network performance experienced by users. During these tests, live voice calls and data sessions are established using SIM cards from all telecom operators. Advanced testing equipment records key Quality of Service (QoS) parameters such as:
The results help consumers compare service quality while encouraging telecom operators to improve network performance.
TRAI noted that the results represent network performance only on the tested routes, locations, and time period. The findings have been shared with telecom operators for necessary corrective action, while detailed reports are available on the regulator's website.