Jio tops 4G availability but Airtel is fastest network in India, says Ookla

Speedtest app-maker Ookla on Tuesday said that Reliance Jio currently tops 4G availability but Airtel is the fastest network in India. Ookla says the findings are part of the research firm’s “look at the 15 largest cities,” during Q3-Q4 2018. “Reliance Jio ranked first with 98.8 per cent 4G availability across the country,” but, “Airtel had the fastest 4G LTE speed in India during Q3-Q4 2018 with a speed score of 11.23Mbps.” Invariably leading to its conclusion that, “4G availability does not automatically equate to fastest service.”  

Reliance Jio ranked first with 98.8 per cent 4G availability across the country, followed by Airtel at 90.0 per cent and Vodafone and Idea with 84.6 per cent and 82.8 per cent respectively, across 15 largest cities of India, during the Q3-Q4 2018 period. That said, Jio was third when it came to 4G LTE speed in India during the same period. Airtel was followed by Vodafone in this regard while Idea was fourth.  

“Ultimately, the expansion of 4G availability in India is a win for all mobile customers regardless of their operator. We are excited to see the growth in the Indian mobile market and are eager to see how coverage continues to expand in the coming year,” Doug Suttles, who is co-founder and general manager at Ookla said in a press statement. 

Previously, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) had claimed that Jio was the fastest 4G network in India (in terms of download speeds) in the month of December. The telco had recorded a download speed of 18.7 megabit per second during the period, while Airtel recorded an average download speed of 9.8 Mbps, according to TRAI data.  

Jio had however failed to make a mark in terms of average upload speed during the same period, as per TRAI. Here, Idea led the race with an average 4G upload speed of 5.3 Mbps followed by Vodafone at 5.1 Mbps. Reliance Jio was third with an average upload speed of 4.3 Mbps while Airtel trailed behind with 3.9Mbps.

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