Airtel performs better than Reliance Jio in 4G download speeds: Report

Mobile analytics company Opensignal says Airtel has the best 4G network as far as data download speed and video streaming are concerned. Meanwhile, Idea leads the charts in data upload speed, according to the report. In terms of service uptime and availability, Reliance Jio's 4G services are available to users 97.8 per cent of the time followed by Airtel at 89.2 per cent. Due to the maximum availability of 4G services with Reliance Jio, latency experience on its network was found to be better in terms of overall score compared to other telecom network operators.

Why does latency matter

Latency has an effect on how good or bad the mobile data experience is going to be for users. Lower the latency, better is the experience on mobile applications, services, video streaming, calling from apps, etc. The report found Vodafone to be the best among all the telecom network operators as far as making VoIP calls are concerned. Meanwhile, Idea tops in 4G upload speed of 4 Mbps on 4G as well as 3G upload speed of 0.9 Mbps.

"Interestingly, Airtel's 4G Latency score of 53.6 millisecond takes a lead over Jio. This reinforces the importance of offering users high 4G availability: Jio being a 4G-only operator and having superior 4G availability meant that our users on its network spent the most time connected to faster 4G networks, allowing the operator to win our overall Latency Experience award," Opensignal said.

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This survey was conducted in 42 Indian cities covering 76.77 lakh devices for a period of 90 days, starting June 1, 2019. Airtel has consistently been found the fastest network in terms of 4G data download, as per Opensignal. However, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has found Reliance Jio to be the fastest network from the last several months. State-run BSNL, which has 3G network across the country and 4G in small pockets, lagged in data download speed with 3.1 megabits per second (mbps) speed.

"Once again, Airtel claimed the award in our overall Download Speed Experience category with a winning score of 9.6 mbps. Conversely, our users experienced the greatest improvements on Vodafone and Idea's networks, as their current overall scores grew by at least 2 mbps to reach 7.9 mbps and 7.6 mbps, respectively outpacing Jio's download speed experience of 6.7 mbps," the report said.

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(With PTI inputs)