Reliance Jio tops 4G speed chart in October; Idea rapidly fading
30 Dec 2017
Reliance Jio has topped the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) charts as the fastest 4G operator in India for October. Jio records 21.9mbps download speed in the test result, followed by Vodafone and Airtel.
October turned out to be a good month for telecom speeds, barring Idea Cellular, as all the operators reported a hike in their 4G mobile data speed (download) during the period, after four consecutive months of decline.
The report shows that behind Jio, Vodafone showed a speed of 9.9Mbps. Bharti Airtel recorded a download speed of 9.3Mbps while Idea recorded 8.1Mbps. This is Jio's tenth consecutive month of being on the top.
While Jio's speeds remained relatively flat through the year, Bharti Airtel's mobile data speed rose by 24 per cent to 9.3 Mbps in October from 7.5 Mbps in September, the latest Trai data showed.
Meanwhile, Vodafone India bettered its performance as the operator's speed rose 14 per cent to 9.9 Mbps from 8.7 Mbps during the review period.
Idea Cellular was the only telecom operator among the top four to record falling speed in October. Its 4G mobile data speed declined by 6 per cent to 8.1 Mbps during the month from 8.6 Mbps in September 2017. Its mobile data speed has been declining consistently since May.
Soon, may be a more expansive methodology to calculate mobile data speeds, as Trai will deliberate with the operators and other expert bodies like Ookla and Open Signal for creating a new methodology to calculate mobile data speed. Trai is planning to make its MYSpeed app, which measures mobile data speeds, more robust and will soon be meeting stakeholders to device a new methodology for calculating data speed.
Where 3G is concerned, Vodafone, Idea and Airtel are the top 3G providers in the country. Vodafone offers a 3.4Mbps download speeds. Airtel is second with 2.9Mbps and Idea with 2.5Mbps.
On upload speed, Vodafone once again ranks first with 1.7Mbps, Idea second with 1.4Mbps and Aircel third with 1.2Mbps. Vodafone, Idea and Airtel have the best 3G coverage in India.
