A report by network intelligence and connectivity insights provider Ookla has said Reliance Jio logged almost 600 Mbps median download speed on its 5G network in Delhi, Airtel reached nearly 200 Mbps median download speed at 197.98 Mbps, and India’s overall 5G speed hit 500 Mbps.
"The new 5G results show that 5G speeds are far superior than India’s existing network. While we need to approach these early results with caution, 5G devices are already showing they can achieve much faster speeds, at least under artificial controlled testing circumstances e.g., no network congestion and ideal network coverage," the report noted.
Ookla undertook this 'Speedtest Intelligence' to show early 5G performance across select cities as well as an indication of the growth of the number of 5G-capable devices.
Telecom operators have been testing their networks, and Ookla's test shows wide range of 5G download speeds: from low double-digit (16.27 Mbps) to a mindblowing 809.94 Mbps, which points to the fact that the operators are still recalibrating their networks. These speeds are expected to be more stable moving forward as the networks will enter the commercial stage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in select Indian cities on October 1. Airtel has announced that its 5G services would be available in eight cities while Reliance Jio has launched 5G beta trial 'Jio True 5G for All' in four Indian cities. The third main telecom operator in India, Vodafone Idea, despite financial woes, India has also reiterated its commitment to the 5G roll-out but it has not yet provided specific timelines.
Jio and Airtel - The 5G race in 4 cities
Ookla said that its Speedtest was done to compare median 5G download speeds across four cities where both Jio and Airtel built their networks.
In Delhi, Airtel reached nearly 200 Mbps median download speed at 197.98 Mbps while Jio almost broke 600 Mbps (598.58 Mbps) since June 2022.
In Kolkata, operators’ median download speeds varied the most since June 2022: Airtel’s median download speed was 33.83 Mbps while Jio had a median download speed at 482.02 Mbps.
In Mumbai, one of the most densely populated cities in India, Airtel fell behind Jio once again, reaching 271.07 Mbps median download speed compared to Jio’s 515.38 Mbps median download since June 2022.
In Varanasi, Airtel pipped its rival as it achieved a 5G median download speed at 516.57 Mbps to Jio’s 485.22 Mbps median download speed since June 2022.
Ookla pointed out Jio’s 5G performance differs depending on the spectrum band it uses. Jio’s 5G network using the C-band (n=78) results in performance ranging between 606.53 Mbps and 875.26 Mbps median download speed. While 5G networks using the lower – 700 MHz frequency band (n=28) so-called coverage band, gives speeds lower than100 Mbps median download speed, ranging between 78.69 Mbps and 95.13 Mbps. Airtel, on the other hand, achieved speeds from 365.48 Mbps to 716.85 Mbps deploying 5G utilizing only its C-band spectrum holding.
It may be recalled that in the recent 5G spectrum auction, Jio acquired the most spectrum, especially in the highly sought-after C-band spectrum, and Jio was the only operator that acquired the 700 MHz band.
iPhone 12 5G tops
As per Ookla’s recent consumer survey, 89 of Indian smartphone users are ready to upgrade to 5G. Among Speedtest users, Jio saw the largest increase in 5G-capable devices (67.4%), followed by Airtel (61.6%), and Vi India (56%).
Hyderabad is where all operators have seen significant growth in terms of 5G-capable devices, with Jio even tripling its install base.
Ookla said the top smartphone vendors in the market are Samsung (31%), followed by Xiaomi (23%), Realme, and Vivo. While only one in ten survey respondents had an iPhone, Apple smartphones tend to be more 5G capable. According to the Speedtest data, the iPhone 12 5G is the most popular 5G-capable device in the Indian market.
According to the Speedtest Global Index, India ranked 117th in the world for mobile download speed at 13.52 Mbps in August.
