BIKANER, Aug. 30 -- Mobile connectivity remains a significant infrastructure gap on parts of Rajasthan's western frontier, with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) field tests recording extensive coverage gaps on the Munabao-Tanot and Pugal-Ranjeetpura highways, including no-coverage observations in more than 80% of samples for two operators on the 311.4-km Munabao-Tanot route. TRAI released its findings after conducting an Independent Drive Test on June 3 along 311.4 km of NH-70 between Munabao and Tanot. The route passed through Sundra, Myajlar, Gunjangarh, Bandha, Longewala and Sadhawala. According to TRAI, the exercise was conducted under the supervision of its Jaipur regional office, to assess and verify the real-time quality of mobile network services, both voice and data, and measure parameters including coverage, call-drop rate, call-setup success rate and data throughput. The test was undertaken after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) identified mobile-network coverage gaps, described by TRAI as black spots, along various national highways including the Munabao-Tanot route and brought the matter to the regulator's notice. TRAI subsequently planned an independent assessment of mobile coverage along the route. The Munabao-Tanot assessment found no coverage in 5,728 of 14,130 samples for Airtel, 8,509 of 10,174 for BSNL, 881 of 15,582 for Reliance Jio and 9,227 of 11,286 for Vodafone Idea. This works out to about 40.54% for Airtel, 83.63% for BSNL, 5.65% for Jio and 81.76% for Vodafone Idea. TRAI separately recorded poor signal-strength observations in 5,271 Airtel, 793 BSNL, 4,403 Jio and 1,561 Vodafone Idea samples. The regulator treats no coverage and poor signal strength as separate coverage-gap measurements. Voice performance also varied sharply. TRAI recorded 10 dropped calls out of 48 successfully established Airtel calls, two out of six for BSNL, three out of 76 for Jio and one out of eight for Vodafone Idea on the route. The regulator's report says the observations represent the performance of the service providers on the particular route at the day and time when the drive test was conducted. Data performance showed an equally wide variation. The average download throughput recorded by TRAI was 55.05 Mbps for Jio, 42.83 Mbps for Airtel, 3.49 Mbps for BSNL and 0.35 Mbps for Vodafone Idea. Average upload speeds were 7.01 Mbps for Jio, 14.03 Mbps for Airtel, 2.80 Mbps for BSNL and 0.75 Mbps for Vodafone Idea. The Munabao-Tanot findings are supported by an earlier TRAI assessment in Bikaner. In January, the regulator tested 104.2 km of NH-911 between Pugal village and Ranjeetpura, passing through Gangajali, Dantour, Miranwala, Karnisar, Miyawala, Kandharli and Gour. During data testing along the Bikaner route, poor signal strength was recorded in 40.88%, 37.56%, 49.93% and 78.26% of samples respectively. Voice service on the Pugal-Ranjeetpura route was also uneven. Call-setup success rates were 88.64% for Airtel, 64.91% for BSNL, 100% for Jio and 18.82% for Vodafone Idea, while drop-call rates were 12.82%, 24.32%, 2.50% and 31.25% respectively. TRAI recorded average download speeds of 91.80 Mbps for Jio, 70.17 Mbps for Airtel, 9.53 Mbps for BSNL and 0.04 Mbps for Vodafone Idea. The significance of the findings extends beyond ordinary consumer connectivity. Rajasthan's western frontier contains a large network of border roads, border outposts and other security infrastructure. The Ministry of Home Affairs says its border-management strategy includes roads, border outposts and technological solutions, while its Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System envisages integration of sensors, networks, intelligence and command-and-control systems to improve situational awareness and facilitate quick response along the India-Pakistan border. TRAI said the findings of the Munabao-Tanot test had been shared with the respective telecom service providers for further necessary action. The regulator also makes clear that its drive tests use live voice and data sessions across available network technologies and are designed to capture on-ground network performance....