Bhubaneswar: In a significant assessment of mobile network quality across some of Odisha's most geographically challenging districts, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has ranked Reliance Jio as the best-performing telecom operator in overall signal quality and internet download speed, while Airtel has emerged as the leader in upload performance.

The findings are based on TRAI's Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted between April 23 and April 25, 2026, covering 446 km across Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts, including eight major public hotspots. The exercise assumes greater importance as Gajapati and Rayagada comprise hilly and forested terrain in Odisha's far south, where maintaining seamless mobile connectivity has historically remained a challenge.

Jio Delivers Strongest Overall Network Coverage

Among the four telecom operators tested—Reliance Jio, Airtel, BSNL and Vodafone Idea (Vi)—Jio recorded the lowest incidence of poor signal strength, indicating the strongest network coverage across the test route.

TRAI found that only 4,976 of 44,323 signal samples collected on Jio's network fell below the prescribed signal threshold, the lowest among all operators. Airtel followed with 5,648 poor-signal samples out of 37,277, while BSNL recorded the weakest performance with 14,768 poor-signal instances out of 35,428 samples.

Interestingly, Jio also reported the lowest "No Coverage" instances, with only 975 samples showing complete absence of service, substantially lower than Airtel (6,939), BSNL (4,807) and Vi (13,448).

Jio Dominates Internet Download Speed

For consumers streaming videos, downloading files or using OTT platforms, Jio comfortably outperformed all competitors.

According to TRAI, Jio delivered an average download speed of 186.07 Mbps, more than double Airtel's 81.74 Mbps. Vodafone Idea recorded 17.91 Mbps, while BSNL managed 6.71 Mbps.

The results indicate that Jio currently offers the fastest mobile internet experience across the surveyed regions of south Odisha.

Airtel Emerges Upload Speed Champion

While Jio dominated downloads, Airtel topped the upload speed rankings, an increasingly important metric for video calls, cloud storage, live streaming and social media uploads.

TRAI measured Airtel's average upload speed at 18.09 Mbps, ahead of Jio (13.46 Mbps), Vodafone Idea (9.63 Mbps) and BSNL (3.54 Mbps).

Call Reliability Mixed Across Operators

The report also evaluated voice service quality.

Vodafone Idea recorded zero dropped calls during the drive test, although it operated with a significantly smaller number of successful calls. Jio registered 7 dropped calls out of 406 successful connections, Airtel recorded 10 drops out of 325, while BSNL reported the highest figure with 33 dropped calls out of 308 successful calls.

Why the Results Matter

Unlike urban benchmarking, this TRAI exercise covered districts where telecom infrastructure faces difficult operating conditions. The drive route passed through coastal Ganjam as well as the hilly interiors of Gajapati and Rayagada, including locations such as Paralakhemundi, Mohana, Chandragiri, Gunupur, Padmapur and other remote stretches. The assessment therefore provides a realistic picture of network performance in areas where consumers frequently experience connectivity issues.

The regulator said the findings have been shared with all telecom service providers to enable corrective action wherever required and to encourage further improvement in service quality.

TRAI Drive Test Winners

• Best Overall Signal Strength: Reliance Jio
• Best Network Coverage (Lowest No-Coverage): Reliance Jio
• Fastest Download Speed: Reliance Jio (186.07 Mbps)
• Fastest Upload Speed: Airtel (18.09 Mbps)
• Lowest Dropped Calls: Vodafone Idea (0 drops during the test)

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