The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), under the Ministry of Communications, has published findings from a network quality test conducted on the Gandhidham to Santhalpur stretch of National Highway-27 in Gujarat in July 2026. The assessment examined voice and data service performance from all major telecom providers operating in the region.
What the test measured
TRAI’s Independent Drive Test covered 149.1 kilometres and used active voice and data sessions on all 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks operated by Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. The agency measured several key indicators:
- Coverage gaps: Areas where signal strength fell below minimum required levels. Airtel recorded 1,253 poor-signal samples out of 17,251 total, BSNL recorded 2,246 out of 14,269, Reliance Jio recorded 225 out of 17,324, and Vodafone Idea recorded 1,239 out of 17,241.
- Call quality: Airtel and Reliance Jio each had zero dropped calls. BSNL experienced 11 dropped calls out of 76 established calls, while Vodafone Idea had 1 dropped call out of 86.
- Call clarity: Silent gaps lasting more than 3 seconds were recorded during calls. Airtel had 7 instances out of 86 calls, BSNL had 9 out of 67, Reliance Jio had 1 out of 82, and Vodafone Idea had 5 out of 83.
- Internet speed: Average download speeds ranged from 20.23 Mbps for BSNL to 223.70 Mbps for Reliance Jio. Upload speeds varied between 6.35 Mbps for BSNL and 22.18 Mbps for Reliance Jio.
What this means for you
If you travel this highway regularly, you now have public data on which network performs best for calls and internet. TRAI has shared these findings with each service provider to encourage improvements. Detailed reports and maps showing exact problem locations are available on the TRAI website.