5G Download Speed ​​India Declines by 7 Percent Airtel Performance Increase Jio Network Quality Dropped

5G has been rolled out in India at a rapid pace and is still being rapidly expanded across the country. However, it appears that network quality is declining over time. A latest insight states that while 5G connectivity is developing rapidly, a major drop in download speeds has been observed. The report suggests that India’s average 5G download speed fell from 304 Mbps in the first quarter of 2023 to 280.7 Mbps by the fourth quarter of the year. The reason for this may be the rapidly increasing 5G data consumption. Airtel and Jio are currently the only two operators in India that provide 5G networks, out of which Airtel’s 5G performance has increased except for a few states, but Reliance Jio’s average 5G speed has declined significantly.

OpenSignal has launched a Latest Report has released a report, which states that the average 5G download speed in India has declined. According to the report, India’s average 5G download speed fell from 304 Mbps in the first quarter of 2023 to 280.7 Mbps by the fourth quarter of the year. At the same time, there has been a big drop in 5G speed during peak hours (9 am – 12 pm) in the first quarter of this year as compared to the first quarter of last year, mainly due to the increase in evening time for streaming, gaming and online shopping.

The availability of 5G networks in the country has increased by 38.5%. This increase is a sign of the rapid expansion of 5G infrastructure in urban and rural areas of India. Operators like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are aggressively expanding 5G services to cover a large population. With this expansion, download speeds are seeing a decline.

Airtel, one of the two major operators offering 5G networks, has completely shifted its investments towards 5G. However, reports suggest that Airtel’s 5G performance has improved in most areas except Punjab, Mumbai and Delhi. The average 5G download speed reportedly increased from 260.4 Mbps in the first quarter of 2023 to 273.6 Mbps in the first quarter of 2024. Airtel’s 5G availability increased from 12.5% ​​to 20.7% during the same period.

However, the case with Reliance Jio was different. The report suggests that Jio’s national 5G download speed dropped from 323.6 Mbps in Q1 2023 to 261.8 Mbps in Q1 2024, with the worst-affected states being Assam, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. The report also suggests that Jio increased its 5G availability from 34.9% to 64.9% during this period.

OpenSignal says industry experts suggest the drop in speeds could be due to network congestion and the growing number of 5G users. As more people gain 5G access, networks may struggle with higher traffic, potentially leading to slower speeds. Additionally, the ongoing integration of 5G infrastructure with existing 4G networks may also contribute to a drop in performance.