Why your Airtel, Jio 5G download speed is getting slower
Two years after their launch in India, Airtel and Jio have witnessed a major fall in 5G download speeds, a new study by analytics firm Opensignal has found. Despite India's high 5G availability — largely thanks to these two providers — the average download speeds have fallen significantly. The report indicates that this decline is mainly due to higher network congestion from rapid 5G adoption and rising data usage.
Spectrum management challenges and user preferences
The Opensignal report also highlights how spectrum management and usage play a key role in improving the 5G user experience. It shows that just 16% of 5G users use the 700MHz frequency band, which offers wider coverage but slower speeds. Meanwhile, a whopping 84% of users opt for the faster but geographically limited 3.5GHz band. This user behavior further complicates spectrum resource management for service providers amid rising data demand.
Airtel outperforms Jio in 5G download and upload speeds
In performance, Airtel's average 5G download speed stands at some 240Mbps, ahead of Reliance Jio by a margin of over 6%. The telco also leads in upload speeds with an average of 23Mbps, ahead of Jio by a whopping 83%. These numbers were collected over three months from June to August this year, with Airtel and Reliance Jio being the focus of India's 5G scene.
Airtel and Jio's strategies to tackle traffic demands
To handle increasing traffic requirements, Airtel is re-farming its mid-band spectrum and plans to deploy 5G Standalone (SA) technology, minimizing reliance on 4G networks. Meanwhile, Jio is focusing on improving its SA 5G network and spectrum utilization plans. Airtel's strategy includes deploying 5G technology over existing 4G infrastructure for quicker rollout in cities. It also plans to strengthen its 4G infrastructure with 3 lakh base stations in the next three years.
