New Delhi: India reported the fastest 5G media download speeds on the back of large-scale and rapid deployment of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks by top carriers Reliance Jio and Reliance Jio. , secured a position in the world’s top 15 markets. Bharti Airtel, according to network testing and analysis company Ookla.
According to Ookla’s analysis of Q4 2023 data, India ranked 14th in the world with a median 5G download speed of 301.86Mbps and a median upload speed of 18.93Mbps.
“India’s two largest telcos, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are the key drivers of 5G deployment in India and are making significant efforts to provide 5G coverage across the country through rapid deployment. ,” said Okura industry analyst Affandi Johan. he said in a report released on Sunday.
Mr. Johan said that India will deploy more than 400,000 5G base stations (BTS) across the country by the end of December 2023, an increase of 7.7 times from January 2023, making it the fastest country in the world to deploy 5G. He added that it has become one of the
He said, “The large-scale and rapid rollout of 5G networks in India is paying off in boosting India’s position in the list of countries offering the fastest median 5G download speeds.” .
The GCC countries of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar led the world’s fastest 5G markets during the period with speeds of 654.59Mbps and 516.79Mbps, respectively. According to Ookla data, the fastest country in Asia Pacific is South Korea, which ranks third overall with a speed of 485.25Mbps.
In India in Q4 2023, the median 5G download speed of 301.86Mbps was 18 times faster than the median 4G download speed of 16.05Mbps. Similarly, Johan said his median 5G upload speed (16.05 Mbps) was five times faster than his 4G upload speed of 3.59 Mbps during the same period.
Johan said 5G availability in India will show improvement throughout 2023, starting from 28.1% in Q1 2023 and rising to 52.0% in Q4 2023, an increase of 23.9 percentage points within a year. said. According to Ookla, 5G availability represents the percentage of his 5G active devices that spend the majority of their time connected to his 5G network.
He said one of the reasons 5G availability has increased is due to the significant increase in the number of 5G-enabled smartphones.
According to Counterpoint Research, India’s 5G smartphone shipment share will cross 52% in 2023, up 66% year-on-year. The introduction of his more affordable 5G-enabled devices in the market has accelerated the adoption of 5G in the country. Canalys reported that in Q4 2023, devices in the $100 to $199 segment registered 168% growth in the country.
“During the same period, Reliance Jio’s 5G availability was the highest among the two at 68.8%, ahead of Airtel, which reported 30.3% 5G availability,” the analyst said. Reliance Jio added that by leveraging a combination of low-band (700 MHz) and mid-band (3.5 GHz) spectrum and an extensive fiber network, it is able to offer subscribers a balance of coverage and performance.
Vodafone Idea, India’s third largest telco, is yet to launch commercial 5G services.
