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 5G Experience in India
Airtel has emerged as the leader in India for 5G, sweeping away all five awards for 5G Experience, including 5G Video, 5G Live Video and 5G Games Experience. 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.
Jio users have the most consistent experience
Jio retains the Consistent Quality award, with a score of 66.5% — 3.2 percentage points greater than Airtel. This indicates that Jio users continue to see the greatest proportion of tests that meet the minimum thresholds to support demanding commonly used mobile applications, such as video calling or uploading an image to social media.
Jio has a firm grip on Coverage awards
Jio remains the sole winner of all three awards in the Coverage category — Availability, 5G Availability and Coverage Experience. Jio comfortably leads in 5G Availability, with 66.7% — over 40 percentage points greater than Airtel. Since the October 2023 report, Jio’s score has improved twice as much as Airtel’s. Jio also leads in Availability — the proportion of time users are connected to a cellular connection — with 99.4%, less than one percentage point greater than second-placed Airtel. Jio also leads by a fair margin in terms of Coverage Experience — measuring the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel with a score of nine points on a 10-point scale.
Airtel users observe the fastest 5G speeds
Airtel wins the 5G Download Speed award, with our users on its network achieving the fastest 5G download speeds in India — around 240Mbps and 6.6% faster than Jio. Similarly, Airtel also wins the 5G Upload Speed award with a score of 23Mbps, around 83% faster than Jio. Airtel also leads in Upload Speed Experience. However, Jio wins the overall Download Speed Experience award with average speeds of 90Mbps — almost twice as fast as Airtel.
Jio leads in 5G Availability, with users spending two third of their time connected to 5G
Jio wins the 5G Availability award, with our 5G users on its network connecting to 5G 66.7% of time, close to three times greater than those with Airtel. 5G Availability compares the proportion 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.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In the rapidly evolving Indian mobile network landscape, Airtel has emerged as the frontrunner for 5G, offering better experience than its competitors in several key categories. Both download speed awards have changed hands since our October 2023 report — in both cases shifting to Airtel at Jio’s expense. Airtel now leads in nine categories, including outright wins across all five 5G experience categories. These include 5G Download Speed, 5G Upload Speed, as well as 5G Live Video, 5G Video, and 5G Games Experience, positioning Airtel as the leader for 5G experience in India. However, Jio remains a strong competitor, leading in five categories, including all three Coverage categories — Availability, 5G Availability, and 5G Coverage Experience — while maintaining its hold on overall Download Speed Experience and Consistent Quality.
India's 5G rollout has been spearheaded by Jio and Airtel, as Vi has yet to launch commercial 5G services. Jio rolled out a large-scale 5G standalone access (qcc) network using the 700MHz band for rural areas and the 3.5GHz band for urban centers, with mmWave (26GHz) reserved for high-capacity applications. Airtel opted for a non-standalone access (NSA) approach, deploying 5G on top of its existing 4G infrastructure for faster urban rollouts.
Two years after the launch, India's 5G Availability is among the highest regionally, and Jio is at the forefront — Jio users spend two-thirds of their time connected to an active 5G signal. However, both Airtel’s and Jio’s average 5G download speeds have declined significantly, primarily due to network congestion resulting from faster 5G adoption and increased data consumption per 5G subscriber. Spectrum management and usage play a key role in shaping users’ 5G experiences. Our recent analysis found that 16% of 5G connections in India use low-band (700MHz) spectrum, which offers extensive coverage but limits speed. The rest use the upper mid-band 3.5GHz spectrum. As data demand continues to rise exponentially, operators face the challenge of managing spectrum resources effectively.
In response to these issues, operators and regulators are actively implementing strategies to manage network congestion and improve performance. Airtel has started refarming its mid-band spectrum to handle increased traffic and is preparing to deploy 5G Standalone (SA) technology, which will reduce its reliance on 4G infrastructure. Jio, on the other hand, continues to expand its SA 5G network while optimizing spectrum usage. Additionally, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) mid-2024 spectrum auction provided operators with much-needed bandwidth in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands. Airtel and Vi focused on renewing expiring spectrum licenses in these bands, which is essential for maintaining service in key circles.
In addition to 5G, Airtel is heavily investing in its 4G network to address the needs of millions of existing users and improve overall network quality. The operator has earmarked USD1 billion for expanding its 4G infrastructure, adding approximately 300,000 new base stations over the next three years. This investment aims to migrate the remaining 2G feature phone users to 4G services.
To sustain these network improvements, both Airtel and Jio have introduced price increases for their prepaid and postpaid plans, effective July 2024. Jio led with increases between 12%-25%, while Airtel followed with price increases of 11%-21%, targeting premium plans while minimizing the impact on entry-level tariffs to protect budget-conscious customers. These price adjustments 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.
While Airtel and Jio are pushing forward with their 5G strategies, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and BSNL continue to struggle in the 5G race. Vi has been hampered by financial difficulties, delaying its full-scale commercial 5G launch. Although Vi has met its minimum 5G rollout obligations in four key circles, it remains primarily focused on refarming spectrum to improve its 4G network and streamline future 5G deployments. BSNL, meanwhile, is still focused on expanding its 4G services.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the four main mobile network operators in India — Vi, Airtel, Jio and BSNL — over a period of 90 days starting on June 01, 2024, and ending on August 29, 2024, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Airtel wins the Video Experience award outright with a score of 62.4 points on a 100-point scale, just ahead of Jio in second place, and Vi in third. BSNL is last, significantly behind with 26.9 points.
Since the last report, Jio's score has increased by three points, while Airtel's score has increased by two points. Vi, Airtel and Jio place in the Good (58-68) category, while BSNL places two categories lower.
A Good (58-68) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
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 once again wins the Live Video Experience award outright with a score of around 55 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over Jio, which places in second with its score of 53 points. Vi scores 50 points, while BSNL continues to place last.
Airtel and Jio place in the Very Good (53-58) category, while Vi places one category lower with Good (43-53) rating.
A Very Good (53-58) rating means that 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.
Operators’ Live Video Experience scores are determined using 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 where the event is happening at that moment in time.
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
Airtel retains the Games Experience award, winning it outright with a score of 65.8 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over Vi, which places in second. Jio follows behind with 62 points. This means that Airtel users enjoy the best overall quality of experience while playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections.
Airtel’s score places it in the Fair (65-75) category, while Vi and Jio place one category lower.
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
Jio remains the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award. Our Jio users observe overall average download speeds of around 90Mbps — about twice Airtel’s 44Mbps. Vi comes third with a score of 16.9Mbps, while BSNL is way behind at 3.1Mbps.
Compared to our last report. Jio's score has increased by an impressive 69%, while Airtel’s has risen by 66%. On the other hand, Vi's score has increased by just 1Mbps (9%).
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
In our previous report, Jio won the Upload Speed Experience award. However, this time Airtel wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright with a score of 6.9Mbps and a lead of 9% over Jio, which places in second. Vi and BSNL follow behind with speeds of 4.4Mbps and 0.8Mbps.
Airtel's score has increased by 23%, since the last report, while Jio's score has increased by 10%. In contrast, Vi's score has decreased by 12%.
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
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2024
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A-H
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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- 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 wins the 5G Video Experience award outright with a score of 75 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of four points over Jio. This means our Airtel users enjoy the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand videos over 5G connections.
With these scores both operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category. A Very Good (68-78) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
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 continues to win the 5G Live Video Experience award outright, doing so this time around with a score of 70 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of five points over Jio, which places in second with its score of 64.9 points.
Airtel's score has increased by three points, while Jio's has dropped by one point.
Both operators place in the Excellent (58 or above) category.
An Excellent (58 or above) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at least at 1080p with low loading times, little stalling and a satisfactory live offset.
Operators’ 5G Live Video Experience scores are determined using 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 5G Video Experience, which represents on-demand video streams, 5G Live Video Experience quantifies live video streaming used for current events. For example when users watch live sports, game streams, music concerts, or news where the event is happening at that moment in time.
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 wins the 5G Games Experience award outright with a score of 80.8 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of seven points over Jio. This means that our Airtel users have the best available quality of experience while playing multiplayer mobile games over 5G connections.
Airtel's score has increased by one point, While Jio's has dropped four points.
Airtel places in the Good (75-85) category, while Jio places one category lower, in Fair (65-75).
A Good (75-85) rating 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. A Fair (65-75) rating means that users find the experience to be ‘average’. In most cases the game is responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling like they have control over the game. The majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in 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
In the previous report, Jio won the 5G Download Speed award. However, this time, Airtel outpaced Jio to win the award outright with a score of 239.7Mbps and a lead of 15Mbps (7%) over Jio.
However, users on both networks have seen their average 5G download speeds decline since the previous report. While Jio users reported a decline of 27%, Airtel's score has decreased by 12%.
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
Airtel is the outright winner of the 5G Upload Speed award with a score of 23.3Mbps — 83% faster than the average 5G upload speeds seen by our Jio users — 12.7Mbps.
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
Regional Analysis Summary: India, Mobile Network Experience Report, October 2024
-
A-H
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Delhi
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
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I-P
- 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
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