Vodafone Idea leads in 4G speed in Chennai, matches Jio in Ayodhya

In the latest round of network benchmarking conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Vodafone Idea (Vi) delivered an impressive performance, emerging as the leader in 4G speed across Chennai’s hotspot zones and closely matching Reliance Jio’s results in Ayodhya.

According to TRAI’s Independent Drive Test (IDT) Report for May 2025, Vi achieved a 4G download speed of 54.57 Mbps in Chennai, outperforming both Jio and Airtel. The testing, carried out in several high-traffic hotspot areas, offered valuable insights into network performance under real-world, high-stress conditions.

In Ayodhya, Vi recorded a 4G download speed of 58.37 Mbps, just 0.19 Mbps shy of Jio’s 58.56 Mbps, putting both operators on near-equal footing in terms of user experience. Vi also led the city in 4G upload speeds, clocking 17.38 Mbps, the highest among all competitors.

These results are encouraging for Vodafone Idea, which has faced financial and operational challenges amid the industry’s rapid shift towards 5G. While competitors have focused on rolling out 5G services, Vi appears to be strategically optimising its existing 4G infrastructure in select areas to enhance service quality and retain its user base.

TRAI’s drive test methodology evaluates various parameters, including call setup success rate (CSSR), call drop rate, latency, and download/upload speeds across diverse locations and time slots. Vi’s strong showing in 4G-centric areas underscores its ongoing efforts to remain competitive on legacy networks, especially in metropolitan and tier-2 cities where customer churn is high and consistent performance is increasingly expected.

The tests spanned 13 cities as well as major highway, railway, and coastal corridors across eight Licensed Service Areas (LSAs). Locations assessed included Ranchi City and Latehar District, Ahmedabad City, the Ahmedabad–Bhavnagar railway route, the coastal region near Ghogha Port (Bhavnagar), Panipat City, Una and Mandi cities, Chikmagaluru City, Chennai City, Ayodhya City, Moradabad City, and the Dehradun–Badrinath highway corridor.

Key Findings from the Independent Drive Tests (IDTs):

• Strongest performance in voice KPIs (Drop Call Rate and Call Setup Success Rate) was observed in Panipat and Ayodhya.

• Ahmedabad, Chennai, Panipat, and Ranchi performed well in 4G data download and upload speeds.

• Ranchi and Una & Mandi recorded higher-than-average drop call rates.

• The Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) in Ahmedabad, Chikmagaluru, Moradabad, and Ranchi fell significantly below TRAI’s benchmark of 98%.

These evaluations form part of TRAI’s ongoing Quality of Service (QoS) audits, designed to assess network performance under realistic usage conditions. All tests were conducted under the direct supervision of TRAI officials, using calibrated equipment and standardised testing protocols across diverse environments.