BSNL Faces Highest Call Drop Rate in Hyderabad
The government-owned telecom company, BSNL, has recorded the highest call drop rate of 3.76%, exceeding the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) benchmark of 2%. This is significantly higher compared to private telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), whose call drop rates are 0.3%, 0.00%, and 0.00%, respectively.
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TRAI Conducts Quality Tests Across Cities
TRAI recently released a report based on Independent Drive Tests (IDT) conducted in four cities: Hyderabad, Delhi, Jaipur, and Ahmednagar, during September and October 2024. These tests, conducted through an empanelled agency, assessed the quality of voice and data services provided by operators like Bharti Airtel, BSNL/MTNL, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, across various technologies including 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G.
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Call Silence Rates Raise Concerns
In terms of “call silence” or “mute call” rates (measured for 4G and 5G networks), Reliance Jio (2.08%) and Vodafone Idea (2.06%) exceeded the acceptable threshold of 2%. Meanwhile, Airtel performed better with a call silence rate of just 1.12%.
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Data Download and Upload Speeds
When it comes to data download speeds, BSNL and Vodafone Idea lagged behind. BSNL, operating primarily on 3G technology, offered an average download speed of 1.28 Mbps. Vodafone Idea, using 4G, achieved 20.85 Mbps. On the other hand, Airtel and Reliance Jio outperformed with significantly higher speeds of 119.88 Mbps and 164.19 Mbps, respectively.
For data upload speeds, BSNL (1.33 Mbps) and Vodafone Idea (8.83 Mbps) also fell short. Airtel and Reliance Jio performed much better, recording average upload speeds of 26.76 Mbps and 20.43 Mbps, respectively.
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Call Setup Success Rates and Times
Reliance Jio achieved a perfect call setup success rate (CSSR) of 100%, while Airtel and BSNL followed closely with 99.85%. Vodafone Idea was slightly lower at 98.92%.
Regarding the time taken to establish a call (Call Setup Time or CST), Vodafone Idea showed the slowest performance at 11.82 seconds. Airtel, BSNL, and Reliance Jio, however, were much faster, with setup times of 4.20 seconds, 2.86 seconds, and 0.75 seconds, respectively.
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Conclusion
The report highlights that while private telecom operators like Airtel and Reliance Jio are leading in overall performance, BSNL continues to struggle with higher call drop rates and slower data speeds. Vodafone Idea also shows room for improvement, particularly in call setup time and data performance.
