India
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
India
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Airtel is top for overall live as well as on-demand video streaming experience, including 5G
Our users observe the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand and live videos with Airtel, both with 5G and overall. Airtel is the outright winner of the overall and 5G Video and Live Video Experience awards, beating second placed Jio in all four categories.
Jio users observe the fastest overall and 5G download speeds
Once again, our Jio users clocked the fastest mobile download speeds in India — a whopping 52.9Mbps on overall networks and 306.3Mbps on 5G. Jio’s Download Speed Experience score is almost twice that of second-placed Airtel; likewise, Jio’s 5G Download Speed score is 12.3% faster than Airtel’s.
Airtel leads in Games and Voice App Experience, both with 5G and overall
Our Airtel users observe the best quality of experience while playing multiplayer mobile games and using over-the-top (OTT) voice services on mobile voice apps with 5G. Airtel also beats the competition on overall Games and Voice App Experience.
The most consistent experience in India is with Jio
Jio wins the Consistent Quality award, which replaces Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality, with a score of 60.9% — 3.2 percentage points greater than second-placed Airtel and over 10 points ahead of Vi. BSNL straggles significantly behind with 13.6%. Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical demanding tasks on their devices.
Jio is the operator to beat for coverage categories
Jio wins all three coverage awards outright — Availability, 5G Availability and Opensignal’s new Coverage Experience award. It takes home the Availability award as users on Jio spend the highest proportion of time connected to mobile broadband services. Jio leads over second-placed Airtel by a marginal 0.8 percentage points in Availability. Jio’s winning margin is much more impressive for 5G Availability — the proportion of time our 5G users have an active 5G connection — as Jio leads by 33 percentage points. Our users on both networks have seen a significant increase in 5G Availability, rising from 11.4% to 16.1% on Airtel and 32.5% to 49.1% on Jio since the last report.
Airtel defends the 5G Upload Speed award
Airtel remains the outright winner of the 5G Upload Speed award, this time winning with a score of25.1 Mbps — 1.2Mbps faster than the previous report and 6.4Mbps (34.2%) faster than Jio. However, when it comes to average overall upload speeds Jio is the Upload Speed Experience award winner this time with 5.8Mbps — just 0.2Mbps and 0.7Mbps ahead of second-placed Airtel and ex-winner Vi, respectively.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Opensignal's latest results show that the Indian mobile network landscape remains a two-horse race between Airtel and Jio. Airtel distinguishes itself on various aspects of mobile network experience. Airtel users enjoy the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand and live videos over mobile networks, including 5G. Likewise, Airtel is also top for the quality of experience while playing multiplayer mobile games and using over-the-top (OTT) voice services on mobile voice apps, even with 5G. Meanwhile, Jio maintains its stronghold on download speeds, boasting the fastest average overall (52.9Mbps) and 5G (306.3Mbps) download speeds. The overall download speeds on Jio are now 2.4 times what they were in the last report. Jio also wins the Upload Speed Experience award this time. However, it has yet to beat Airtel on 5G Upload Speed.
Furthermore, Jio wins the Consistent Quality award along with all three coverage awards outright — excelling in Availability, 5G Availability and Coverage Experience. Both Jio and Airtel have witnessed a substantial increase in 5G Availability, benefitting users across India.
Our regional analysis of Mobile Network Experience across 22 Indian telecom circles reveals that Airtel is top for gaming, video streaming, and voice app experiences in most number of circles, while Jio excels in download speeds, Availability and 5G Availability and coverage metrics.
The Indian mobile network landscape has experienced rapid evolution recently. In about a year since their commercial 5G launches, Airtel and Jio achieved a significant milestone, each garnering over 50 million 5G subscriptions.
Both Airtel and Jio have launched their respective 5G-based fixed wireless access (FWA) services, namely 'Airtel Xstream AirFiber' and 'JioAirFiber,' initially available in major cities. This adoption of 5G technology facilitates swift coverage expansion, addressing the needs of millions without access to home broadband. Meanwhile, Vi has been working to meet its 5G obligations, conducting tests in Pune and exploring OpenRAN and virtualized RAN (VRAN) technologies to streamline its rollout and reduce costs.
Looking ahead, Jio announced that it is on track to achieve nationwide 5G coverage by December this year, with plans for nearly one million 5G sites. Jio has also initiated its 'Jio Bharat' phone platform to migrate feature phone users to affordable 4G-enabled devices, aiming to provide roughly 250 million Indians with cost-effective 4G technology.
In this Opensignal report, we assessed the overall mobile network experience of our users on the four main mobile network operators in India: Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi, over a period of 90 days starting on June 1, 2023, and ending on August 29, 2023, to understand how they compare nationally as well as in 22 telecom circles. We have also analyzed the 5G experience of our users on the two Indian operators that have commercially launched 5G — Airtel and Jio.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Airtel users continue to observe the best on-demand Video Experience. As a result, Airtel is once again the outright winner of the on-demand Video Experience award with a score of 60 points on a 100-point scale — making it the fourth consecutive outright win for the operator, beating Jio by 0.8 points this time.
Airtel and Jio are the only operators to rate as Good (58-68) for Video Experience — meaning our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. Vi places in the Fair (58-68) category with 57.5 points, while BSNL earns a Poor (under 48) rating with 33.7 points. Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users’ real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
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
Airtel wins Opensignal's inaugural Live Video Experience award in India with a score of 54.7 points on a 100-point scale, ahead of Jio’s, Vi’s and BSNL’s scores of 54.1, 52.6 and 29.9 points, respectively.
Live Video Experience score comprises a range of measures that impact users' perceived live streaming viewing experience, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, but also live playback offset — the time difference between real-time and the current playback position a viewer sees. Unlike Video Experience, which represents on-demand video streams, Live Video Experience quantifies live video streaming used for current events. For example, when users watch live sports, game streams, music concerts or news.
Airtel and Jio achieve a Very Good (53-58) rating for Live Video Experience, which means our users are, on average, able to stream video at least at 720p or 1080p with low loading times, little stalling and a satisfactory live offset.t Vi rates as Good (43-53), but BSNL places in the Poor (under 33) category.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of real-time video streamed to mobile devices by measuring video streams over an operator's network. The metric extends the existing International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach used for Opensignal's on-demand Video Experience metric, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including live playback offset, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived live video experience as reported by real people. To calculate live video experience, we are directly measuring live video streams from end-user devices and using this extension of ITU's approach to quantify the overall live video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
Our users on Airtel enjoy the best experience in India when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections. Airtel wins the Games Experience award with a score of 64.1 points on a 100-point scale, giving it a winning margin of 1.7 points over second-placed Vi. Jio and BSNL are in third and fourth place, respectively with scores of 60.8 points and 43.4 points.
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 retains its Voice App Experience award with a score of 78.3 points — 0.9 points ahead of second-placed Jio’s 77.4 points. Vi and BSNL are in third and fourth place, with 77.3 and 70.9 points, respectively. Airtel, Jio and Vi all keep their Acceptable (74-80) ratings, while BSNL continues to rate as Poor (66-74).
An Acceptable Voice App Experience means some users are satisfied and listeners are generally able to comprehend without repetition. However, some users experience perceptible call quality impairments.
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
Our smartphone users experience the fastest overall download speeds in India with Jio, 52.9Mbps on average — almost twice as fast as Airtel users and 3.4 times faster than those on Vi. On the other hand, BSNL users report the lowest Download Speed Experience of 3.4Mbps.
Compared to the last report, our users across all four networks have seen improvements in overall average download speeds. Our Jio users recorded the largest increase — Jio’s score is 2.4 times that seen in the previous report — while Airtel users saw their download speeds improve by 48%. Meanwhile, users on BSNL and Vi reported an upswing of 8.7% and 4%, respectively.
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
Jio is the new winner of the Upload Speed Experience award, as our users observe the fastest overall upload speed on Jio — 5.8Mbps on average, followed by those on Airtel with 5.6Mbps.
Users on all four operators have seen improvement in their average upload speeds since the last report. Jio users saw the biggest increase of 39%, while Airtel and BSNL users see 19% and 14.2% faster speeds this time. Meanwhile, Vi users saw a marginal spike of 1.4% as a result, ex-winner Vi now places third with 5.1Mbps. BSNL is significantly behind with 1.2Mbps.
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
As with the national results, Airtel leads in regional Video and Live Video experience results. Airtel is top for the quality of on-demand video streaming in 13 circles, including three joint wins. Similarly, it wins outright in nine circles for Live Video Experience and shares the top spot with Jio in a further four. The regional analysis also reflects Airtel's national dominance in Games and Voice App Experience. Airtel comes top for Games Experience in 18 circles, including Haryana and Punjab, where it shares the winners’ podium with Vi. For Voice App Experience, Airtel is the outright winner in 18 circles and shares first place with Jio in Haryana and with Jio and Vi in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, Jio achieves a clean sweep in our regional analysis of Download Speed Experience, winning across 22 circles. Jio users clock overall download speeds averaging above 50 Mbps in eight circles — Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, with those in Kolkata enjoying the fastest average download speeds of 73.4Mbps.
For regional Upload Speed Experience, Airtel and Jio each win outright in eight circles. Vi is the sole winner in four circles — Assam, Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. In addition, it shares first place with Airtel in Himachal Pradesh and with Jio in North East.
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2023
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- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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- Jammu and Kashmir
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Kolkata
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Mumbai
- North-East
- Odisha
- Punjab
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- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh (East)
- Uttar Pradesh (West)
- West Bengal
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5G Experience
National Analysis
Airtel is top in India when it comes to the quality of experience while streaming on-demand video over a 5G connection. Airtel wins the 5G Video Experience award with a score of 74.2 points (on a scale of 0-100), slightly ahead of Jio's 72.4 points.
Both the operators achieve a Very Good (68-78) rating for 5G Video Experience, which means our users on their networks, on average, stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling when connected to 5G. 5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users’ real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. 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 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network 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.
National Analysis
Airtel wins a closely contested competition for the 5G Live Video Experience award outright with a score of 66.8 points on a 100-point scale. Jio takes second place with a marginally lower score of 66.1 points.
Both national 5G operators rate as Excellent (58 or above) for 5G Live Video Experience, which means our 5G users in India are, on average, able to stream video at least at 1080p with low loading times, little stalling and a satisfactory live offset.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of real-time video streamed to mobile devices by measuring video streams over an operator's network. The metric extends the existing International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach used for Opensignal's on-demand Video Experience metric, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including live playback offset, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived live video experience as reported by real people. To calculate live video experience, we are directly measuring live video streams from end-user devices and using this extension of ITU's approach to quantify the overall live video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
5G Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world live video streams when they were connected to 5G.
National Analysis
Airtel comes first for 5G Games Experience with a score of 79.6 points on a 100-point scale — 1.6 points higher than Jio. Both Airtel and Jio place in the Good (75-85) category. This means that most users deem the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G 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 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Airtel is the winner of the 5G Voice App Experience award with a score of 82.8 points (on a 100-point scale) — 0.9 points ahead of Jio. With these scores, both the operators garner a Good (80-87) rating for 5G Voice App Experience.
A Good Voice App Experience means many users are satisfied. However, some users experience minor quality impairments.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses 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. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
Jio wins the 5G Download Speed award, scoring 306.3Mbps —12.3% faster than Airtel with 272.7Mbps. However, Jio’s lead over Airtel has dropped by 20.5Mbps since the last report from 54.1Mbps to 33.6Mbps. This has been driven by an 11.5Mbps increase in Airtel’s score and an 8.9Mbps drop in Jio’s.
The 5G Download Speeds of our users on both operators are significantly faster than the average download speeds across all technologies — 10.2 times faster on Airtel to 5.8 times faster on Jio.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
Our users on Airtel enjoy the fastest 5G upload speeds in India, 25.1Mbps on average — 6.4Mbps (34.2%) faster than those seen by Jio users.
Looking at the uplift between overall and 5G upload speeds, our users on Airtel see 4.5 times faster upload speeds with 5G and 3.2 times faster in the case of Jio users. While download speeds typically attract the most attention, upload speeds are becoming increasingly important to users. Sharing photos and videos on social media or large files all benefit from fast upload speeds.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Regional Analysis
In this part of the report, we compare Indian operators to see how they stack up in 22 telecom circles in terms of users' 5G experience.
For on-demand video streaming with 5G, Airtel is top in 19 circles, including Kolkata and Bihar, where Airtel and Jio are statistically tied. Likewise, Airtel also leads in terms of live video streaming on 5G with top scores in 19 circles, winning outright in 13 circles and jointly winning in six alongside Jio.
Airtel dominates the regional 5G Games Experience results by winning in 14 circles, including a joint win with Jio in Punjab. On the other hand, Jio is the sole winner in eight circles — Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (East) and West Bengal. Impressively, Airtel is top for 5G Voice App Experience across all 22 circles, with joint wins in Kerela, Kolkata, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (East) alongside Jio.
Looking at 5G download speeds by region, in the previous report, Jio won the 5G Download Speed across all 22 circles — jointly or outright. However, this time, Jio is the sole winner in 15 circles, while Airtel now leads outright in six circles: Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal ).
Compared to overall download speeds across circles, our Jio users experience 4.8-8 times faster download speeds with 5G, while the uplift for Airtel users ranges from 8.6 to 14.1 times.
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2023
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A-H
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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I-P
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Kolkata
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Mumbai
- North-East
- Odisha
- Punjab
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- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh (East)
- Uttar Pradesh (West)
- West Bengal
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in Rajasthan
in Rajasthan
in Tamil Nadu
in Tamil Nadu
in Tamil Nadu
in Tamil Nadu
in Tamil Nadu
in Tamil Nadu
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in West Bengal
in West Bengal
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in West Bengal
in West Bengal
Coverage
National Analysis
Jio is the first operator in India to win Opensignal’s new Coverage Experience award. It does so with a score of 8.8 points on a 10-point scale. Airtel places second with a score of 6.6 points, followed by Vi and BSNL.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
National Analysis
Our Jio users spend the highest proportion of their time connected to a 3G or better cellular signal — 99.3%, on average. Jio, therefore, continues to remain the outright winner of the Availability award. Airtel is slightly behind at 98.5%, followed by Vi (95.8%).
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
Having very fast average 5G download speeds is only useful when users have a 5G connection. Opensignal's 5G Availability compares the amount of time our 5G users spend with an active 5G connection — the higher the percentage, the more time users on a network spend connected to 5G.
Our users on both networks have seen considerable increases in 5G Availability since the last report. Jio’s 5G Availability score has risen markedly, from 32.5% to 49.1%, while Airtel’s has increased from 11.4% to 16.1%. Consequently, Jio wins the 5G Availability award again, with our 5G users on its network now spending almost half the time with an active 5G connection.
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.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Regional Analysis
In our regional analysis of Availability, Jio wins outright across all 22 circlest. Our Jio users in all circles are able to spend at least 99% of the time connected to mobile broadband service. On the other hand, Airtel's Availability scores range from 97.7-98.8%, and on Vi it varies from 88.8-97%.
On 5G Availability, Jio is the outright winner in all 22 circles. The difference between Jio and Airtel for 5G Availability is much starker than that for Availability. Jio's 5G availability scores range from 37.3% in Himachal Pradesh to 57.6% in Kolkata, with the latter being the highest score seen across all the combinations of operators and circles. Remarkably, Jio users in seven circles enjoy 5G Availability above 50%. In contrast, Airtel’s scores across the 22 circles range from 9.9% in West Bengal to 19% in Tamil Nadu.
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2023
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A-H
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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I-P
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Kolkata
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Mumbai
- North-East
- Odisha
- Punjab
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Q-X
- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh (East)
- Uttar Pradesh (West)
- West Bengal
in Andhra Pradesh
in Andhra Pradesh
in Assam
in Assam
in Bihar
in Bihar
in Delhi
in Delhi
in Gujarat
in Gujarat
in Haryana
in Haryana
in Himachal Pradesh
in Himachal Pradesh
in Jammu and Kashmir
in Jammu and Kashmir
in Karnataka
in Karnataka
in Kerala
in Kerala
in Kolkata
in Kolkata
in Madhya Pradesh
in Madhya Pradesh
in Maharashtra
in Maharashtra
in Mumbai
in Mumbai
in North-East
in North-East
in Odisha
in Odisha
in Punjab
in Punjab
in Rajasthan
in Rajasthan
in Tamil Nadu
in Tamil Nadu
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in West Bengal
in West Bengal
Consistency
National Analysis
Jio is the winner of the Consistent Quality award in India, with a score of 60.9%, followed by Airtel and Vil with 57.7% and 50.5%, respectively. Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical demanding tasks on their devices. This award replaces previous reports' Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical tasks on their devices.
We combine different experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
Regional Analysis
Comparing Indian operators based on Consistent Quality, Jio reigns supreme in 11 circles, while users in 10 circles see the most consistent experience with Airtel. On the other hand, Vi is top for Consistent Quality in Mumbai.
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2023
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A-H
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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I-P
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Kolkata
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Mumbai
- North-East
- Odisha
- Punjab
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Q-X
- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh (East)
- Uttar Pradesh (West)
- West Bengal
in Andhra Pradesh
in Assam
in Bihar
in Delhi
in Gujarat
in Haryana
in Himachal Pradesh
in Jammu and Kashmir
in Karnataka
in Kerala
in Kolkata
in Madhya Pradesh
in Maharashtra
in Mumbai
in North-East
in Odisha
in Punjab
in Rajasthan
in Tamil Nadu
in Uttar Pradesh (East)
in Uttar Pradesh (West)
in West Bengal
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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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