On the other hand, despite the lower quantity of spectrum in use, Vodafone seems to be able to maintain a higher quality of service for its 4G data users compared to other networks.
While Idea and Vodafone use chunks of 5 MHz spectrum, Airtel and Jio use both 5 MHz and 20 MHz blocks in most circles. The data also reveals that Bharti Airtel is able to withstand the traffic pressure better than Idea due to the considerably higher spectrum deployed by the Gurgaon-based company. The numbers indicate the pressure felt by the 4G networks of Reliance Jio, which carries about 60% of India’s total wireless Internet traffic, and Idea Cellular. Taking the average of these six cities, Vodafone scored an average download speed of 10.5 Mbps, which was higher than Airtel’s reading for ten cities. As a result, its data could be read only in six cities. However, the operator did not have LTE services in four of the ten cities. Vodafone’s 4G network was also part of the drive test.
For the record, MySpeed app shows Bharti’s average pan-India 4G speed at 8.9 Mbps and Idea at 8.2 Mbps. Not surprisingly, the speeds detected in these drive tests vary from those reported by consumer apps.įor example, according to the MySpeed app by TRAI, the average download speed for Reliance Jio in India is 20.3 Mbps, while it is only 6.57 Mbps in these drive tests. The cities in which the tests were carried out ranged from Bhiwani in Haryana to Kota in Rajasthan to Calicut in Kerala.Ĭompared to data reported by apps, these scores are more likely to approximate the actual conditions faced by users on the ground as these tests were carried out under neutral conditions. 4G operator Bharti Airtel was clearly ahead of market leader Reliance Jio and challenger Idea Cellular in on-the-ground 4G speed tests conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in ten cities in India this year.Īccording to the data from these tests, Bharti Airtel scored an average download speed of 9.46 Mbps, 44% faster than Reliance Jio’s score of 6.57 Mbps. Idea Cellular recorded an average download speed of 7.41 Mbps.