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NEW DELHI: India has secured a spot in the top 15 markets globally with the fastest reported 5G media download speeds on the back of the large-scale and swift deployments of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks by the top telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, according to network testing and analytics firm Ookla.
According to Ookla’s analysis of Q4 2023 data, India ranked 14th globally in 5G median download speeds with 301.86Mbps and median upload speeds of 18.93Mbps.
“The two largest operators in India, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, have been the primary drivers of the 5G rollout in the country, making significant efforts to provide 5G coverage across the nation through rapid deployment,” Affandy Johan, Industry Analyst at Ookla said in a report released Sunday.
Johan added that by the end of December 2023, India had more than four hundred thousand 5G base stations (BTSs) deployed nationwide, an increase of 7.7-times from January 2023, making it one of the fastest countries to roll out 5G globally.
“The large-scale and rapid deployment of the 5G network in India has been paying off by elevating India’s position in the list of countries providing the fastest 5G median download speed,” he said.
The GCC countries of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar led the fastest 5G markets globally during the period, with speeds of 654.59Mbps and 516.79Mbps, respectively. South Korea was the fastest Asia Pacific country, coming in third overall with a speed of 485.25Mbps, as per Ookla data.
In India in Q4 2023, the 5G median download speed of 301.86Mbps was 18-times faster than the 4G median download speed of 16.05Mbps. Similarly, the 5G median upload speed (16.05 Mbps) was 5 times faster than 4G’s upload speed of 3.59 Mbps during the same period, Johan said.
Johan said that 5G availability in India showed improvement throughout 2023, starting at 28.1% in Q1 2023 and rising to 52.0% in Q4 2023, representing a 23.9 percentage point increase within a year. 5G availability represents the percentage of 5G-active devices that spend the majority of their time connected to 5G networks, as per Ookla.
One of the reasons for an increase in 5G availability, he said, is due to the significant growth in 5G-capable smartphones.
According to Counterpoint Research, India’s 5G smartphone shipment share crossed 52% in 2023, growing 66% year-on-year. The introduction of more affordable 5G-capable devices in the market has helped boost 5G adoption in the country. Canalys reported that in Q4 2023, devices in the $100 to $199 segment witnessed a growth of 168% in the country.
“Reliance Jio had the highest 5G availability among the two at 68.8% during that period, ahead of Airtel, which reported 5G availability of 30.3%,” the analyst said. By leveraging a combination of low-band (700 MHz) and mid-band (3.5 GHz) spectrum, along with its extensive fiber network, Reliance Jio can provide its subscribers with a balance between coverage and performance, he added.
Vodafone Idea, the third-largest telco in India, is yet to commercially launch its commercial 5G services.
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