Recently, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the findings of its Independent Drive Test (IDT) for the Kolkata Licensed Service Area (LSA), covering extensive routes across the Kolkata Telecom District and parts of North and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal. The assessment was carried out in November 2025 to capture real-world mobile network performance across urban zones, business districts, residential areas and institutional hotspots.

Between 10 and 15 November 2025, TRAI teams conducted drive and walk tests covering 308.1 km of city routes, 10 hotspot locations and 2.6 km of walk-test areas. Technologies evaluated included 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, reflecting user experience across different handset capabilities. The findings have been shared with all concerned telecom service providers.

Key parameters assessed for voice services included Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), call setup time, speech quality and coverage, while data services were evaluated on download and upload throughput, latency, jitter, packet drop rate and video streaming delay.

In auto-selection mode, call setup success rates stood at 99.81 per cent for Airtel, 96.53 per cent for BSNL, 100 per cent for RJIL and 99.63 per cent for VIL. Drop call rates were recorded at 0.19 per cent for Airtel, 2.46 per cent for BSNL, nil for RJIL and 0.37 per cent for VIL. For 5G services, the maximum average download speed reached 273.82 Mbps, while upload speeds peaked at 43.96 Mbps during city drive tests.

The assessment covered locations such as New Town, Rajarhat, Salt Lake, Barasat, Barrackpore and Khardaha, along with major institutions, transport hubs and public facilities. TRAI stated that the tests were conducted using standardised protocols and equipment to reflect real-time network conditions, with the detailed report available on its official website.