Airtel beats Jio to offer faster 5G speeds, but trails in coverage

Airtel has emerged as the leader in India for 5G connectivity, thanks to its faster speeds than Jio’s across circles. On the other hand, Reliance Jio, which kicked off its 5G rollout before Airtel, offers better 5G coverage, allowing more than 66 per cent of its users to experience high-speed internet. The findings are a part of OpenSignal’s new Mobile Network Experience Report, which underscores that India’s 5G availability is among the highest in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region despite both telecom companies losing average 5G download speeds “significantly” since their launch in 2022.

Opensignal’s October 2024 report said Airtel outshone Jio in all five parameters of ‘5G Experience’. The telecom company scored 74.9 in 5G video experience, 70.0 in 5G live video experience, 80.8 in 5G games experience, 239.7 in 5G download speed, and 23.3 in 5G upload speed. Its rival, Jio, however, performed underwhelmingly in these aspects, scoring 71.3, 64.9, 74.2, 224.8, and 12.7, respectively.

“This means Airtel users not only enjoy the fastest average 5G download and 5G upload speeds but also enjoy the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand and live videos, as well as playing multiplayer mobile with 5G in India,” said Hardik Khatri, senior analyst at OpenSignal.

Reliance Jio may appear to be losing the 5G speed battle to Airtel, but it has one ball in its court. The report highlighted that Jio’s 5G coverage is three times greater than that of Airtel, resulting in more time its users spend on an active 5G connection. Jio scored 9.0 in coverage experience, 99.4 in availability, and 66.7 in 5G availability – compared to Airtel, which brought in scores of 7.1, 98.7, and 24.4, respectively. A higher 5G availability score means “ 5G users on Jio spend about two-thirds of their time connected to an active 5G connection, while Airtel users only spend one-fourth,” per Khatri.

Although Jio rolled out a large-scale 5G standalone access (SA) network using the 700MHz band for rural areas and the 3.5GHz band for urban centres, its 5G download speeds fall short compared to those of Airtel, which opted for a non-standalone (NSA) approach for its 5G network, has managed to offer high speeds. However, both Jio’s and Airtel’s average 5G download speeds have dipped “due to network congestion resulting from faster 5G adoption and increased data consumption per 5G subscriber.” Sustaining network improvements is a challenge for both operators, especially with the increase in data demand. Khatri said, the recent price hikes “are critical for both operators as they seek to fund the continued expansion of their 5G networks and manage the rising costs associated with increased data demand.”