India
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.
India
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.
Key Findings
Airtel is top for mobile Video, Games and Voice App Experience
Airtel holds an edge when it comes to quality of experience (QoE) across Indian mobile networks. Our Airtel users enjoyed the best available experience when streaming videos, playing multiplayer mobile games or using over-the-top (OTT) voice services over mobile networks. As a result, Airtel is again the outright winner of Opensignal's Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience awards.
Airtel beats Vi to win the Download Speed award
Airtel is the new winner of Opensignal's Download Speed Experience award in India. Our users on Airtel clocked the fastest overall mobile download speeds in India — 13.6 Mbps, on average — which were 0.3-0.6 Mbps faster than the speeds users saw on Vi and Jio and 10.6 Mbps faster than on last-placed BSNL.
Jio is dominant for Availability and 4G Coverage Experience
Jio wins all three awards in the Coverage section. It is once again the outright winner of the Availability and 4G Availability awards, as our Indian users were able to spend the highest proportion of time (99.4%) connected to mobile broadband services on Jio's 4G network. Jio also wins the 4G Coverage Experience award, as Jio users connected to 4G in the largest proportion of locations visited by Indian users — 95 of 100 locations. Airtel places second across all three categories, followed by Vi and BSNL.
Jio has the most consistent experience
Jio wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award, with a score of 62.6% — 8.4 points ahead of second-placed Airtel. Also, Jio wins the Core Consistent Quality award with a score of 85.7% with a similar lead of 8.8 points over Airtel. Consistent quality quantifies how often users' network experience was sufficient to support common applications' requirements. Excellent Consistent Quality uses thresholds for more demanding applications than does Core Consistent Quality.
Vi leads in Upload Speed Experience
Vi is the winner of the Upload Speed Experience award, as our Vi users observed the fastest overall upload speeds across India, averaging 4.7 Mbps — 0.5-0.7 Mbps faster than Airtel and Jio. On the other hand, the Upload Speed Experience on BSNL lagged significantly behind with 1.1 Mbps.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
India, one of the world's largest telecom markets, is on the brink of the 5G revolution. As India is gearing up for commercial launches, Opensignal's latest analysis reveals that a large addressable market already exists for India’s operators because a sizable proportion of smartphone users already use 5G-capable smartphones. Therefore, there is a massive opportunity for the mobile operators to quickly gain 5G customers by rolling out 5G services in places with higher proportions of users that already own 5G-capable smartphones.
In August 2022, India concluded its long-awaited 5G spectrum auctions, generating $19 billion from the sale of frequencies in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands. Jio and Airtel walked away with most of the spectrum, while Vi pursued a slightly different strategy, purchasing frequencies worth $2.4 billion but only in selected markets. Almost immediately after this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued spectrum assignment letters, requesting mobile operators prepare for the launch of 5G services in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 5G services on October 1. Airtel is the first to launch commercial 5G services. The operator has switched on 5G in eight cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Siliguri — and aims to make it available across the country by March 2024. While Airtel announced implementing 5G non-standalone access (NSA) technology, by contrast, Jio has taken the 5G standalone access (SA) route, using the 700 MHz (5G low-band spectrum) that no other Indian operator currently has. Jio plans to switch on its 5G services by Diwali (October 22) and launch its own-branded 5G phone around the same time. On the other hand, Vi is yet to announce its 5G launch timelines.
In this report, Opensignal assessed the mobile network experience of the four main mobile network operators in India: Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi, over a period of 90 days starting on June 1, 2022, and ending on August 29, 2022, to understand how they compare nationally as well as in 22 telecom circles.
A quick look at Opensignal's results and it’s very clear that a two-horse race exists between Airtel and Jio when it comes to the mobile network experience in India, as Airtel wins four awards outright, while Jio is the outright winner of five awards. Vi wins one award while BSNL continues to lag significantly behind its rivals across all metrics — winning no categories.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Airtel is once again the outright winner of the Video Experience award, as Indian users enjoyed the best quality of experience while streaming video on smartphones over Airtel's mobile networks. Airtel leads with a Video Experience score of 41 (on a 100 point scale), while Jio is close behind with 40.4 points.
Both Airtel and Jio place both in the Fair category (40-55). In contrast, Vi and BSNL's scores ranked in the Poor (under 40) category. The demand for mobile video streaming services has exploded in India, which means mobile Video Experience is a very important aspect of mobile network experience in India.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
Our Airtel users had the best experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections. Airtel wins the Games Experience award with a score of 60.1 points on a 100 point scale, ahead of Vi and Jio’s scores of 59.1 and 58.1.
Opensignal's Games Experience quantifies the quality of experience of real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's network. It represents the experience of popular genres of mobile games such as battle royale games like COD mobile or Garena FreeFire and MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) titles like Arena of Valor.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Airtel is the outright winner of the Voice App Experience award, scoring 77.4 points on a 100 point scale. However, its margin of victory is relatively narrow, given Jio's score of 77.2 points in second place. Vi followed closely behind with 76.4.
Airtel, BSNL and Vi placed in the Acceptable category (74-80) for Voice App Experience, while BSNL's score of 67.7 points placed it in the Poor category (66-74). These scores mean Airtel is top when it comes to the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
After a long stint as the sole winner of the Download Speed Experience award Vi loses it to Airtel. This time our users in India clocked the fastest overall download speeds on Airtel's network, averaging 13.6 Mbps — 2.5% faster than ex-winner Vi and 4.8% faster than Jio. Meanwhile, the Download Speed Experience on BSNL users lagged significantly behind at 3 Mbps.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
Vi continues to lead in terms of overall average upload speeds. Vi wins the Upload Speed Experience award, with an average overall upload speed of 4.7 Mbps — 13.1% faster than second-placed Vi. Jio is in third place with 3.9 Mbps, while BSNL tailed behind the pack with a national Upload Speed Experience score of 1.1 Mbps, on average.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
Regional Analysis
Looking at regional Video Experience, national winner Airtel placed top in 10 out of 22 circles. This includes Airtel's four joint wins — with Vi in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and North East and alongside Jio in Punjab. Jio wins outright in eight regions, including the Delhi metro circle. Vi is the sole winner of Video Experience in Assam, Mumbai and West Bengal, in addition to its joint win in the North East circle alongside Jio.
Airtel also dominates the regional results for Games Experience by placing top across 15 circles. The operator wins outright in 11 circles and collects joint wins in a further four. Likewise, Airtel users also enjoyed the top Voice App Experience in 15 circles of which it wins 10 outright.
Moving on to the Download Speed Experience across Indian circles, Vi dominates the regional results by winning outright in nine circles and sharing the top spot with Jio in Kerala. Meanwhile, the national winner, Airtel, wins outright in eight circles, including Jammu and Kashmir, where Airtel users observed download speeds averaging 15.2 Mbps, which is impressive given mobile broadband services were restored recently in the circle. Vi also dominated the region Upload Speed Experience, as users on its network, on average, observed top upload speeds in 15 out of 22 regions, including Himachal Pradesh where Vi and Airtel are joint winners.
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2022
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Coverage
National Analysis
India's 4G-only operator, Jio, wins the Availability award, as our users across all five national networks spent the most time connected to a cellular signal on Jio's network — an impressive 99.4% on average, but less than one percentage point greater than its closest competitor Airtel.
Vi occupies third place with an average national score marginally above the 95% mark, while BSNL places last with 82.1%. These scores mean that Indian smartphone users typically spent 82.1%-99.4% of their time connected to mobile broadband services with a 3G or better signal, depending on their choice of mobile operator.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
National Analysis
Our Jio users enjoyed the highest 4G Availability in India. As a result, the operator wins the award outright — with 99.4%. This means that our 4G users on Jio's network, on average, spent 99.4% of their time connected to 4G services. Our users on Airtel saw slightly lower 4G Availability of 98.6%, followed by 93% on Vi. Meanwhile, BSNL users reported the lowest 4G Availability of 61.3%.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
4G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 4G device and a 4G subscription — but have never connected to 5G — had a 4G connection.
National Analysis
Jio is the outright winner of the 4G Coverage Experience award with a spectacular score of 9.5 points on a 10 point scale — ahead of Airtel's score of eight points — which means our Jio users connected to 4G in most locations — 95 out of 100 locations — visited by our Indian users on average.
Definitions
4G Coverage Experience measures how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
In simple terms, 4G Coverage Experience measures the mobile coverage experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users — i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. It considers all the areas that Opensignal users visit, the portion of locations that 4G is available to them, and locations that more users visit have higher importance to them.
Regional Analysis
In our regional analysis of Availability, Jio is the winner across all 22 circles, with users being able to spend the highest proportion connected to Jio's mobile broadband service — more than 99% of the time.
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2022
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A-H
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi Telecom Circle
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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I-P
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Kolkatta
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Mumbai
- North-East
- Orissa
- Punjab
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- Rajasthan
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Consistency
National Analysis
Jio is the winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award, as 62.6% of Jio users' tests met the minimum recommended performance thresholds sufficient to support demanding common applications (such as HD video, group video conference calls, and gaming). Airtel is second placed with 54.2%, followed by Vi with 48.5%, while BSNL was a long way behind with 12.2%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
Jio is the outright winner of the Core Consistent Quality award, with a score of 85.7%. Airtel and Vi followed further behind with 76.9% and 69.1%, respectively, while BSNL scored 37%. Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications, including standard definition (SD) video, voice calls and web browsing.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience