Jio had the highest broadband speeds in Q4 2020.
It is third in mobile data speeds, with Vi leading the pack here.
In SAARC countries, India is the fastest when it comes to a fixed broadband connection.
The quarterly internet speed reports generated by entities like Ookla are always fun and insightful to glance through. It paints a clear picture of the current state of the internet in the country. Ookla's Q4 2020 report just came in and it's got some very interesting information.
Ookla Q4 2020 report: Broadband speeds
The report highlights broadband and mobile network performance by a bunch of different operators. Jio is said to have the fastest mean download speed over fixed broadband with a 3.7 rating and the only positive NPS (Net Promotor Score), which measures customer satisfaction.
Jio broadband was followed by ACT, Airtel, and Excitel for second, third, and fourth place respectively. The report also noted that BSNL had the slowest mean download speed over fixed broadband during the same Q4 2020 period. The lowest rating and the lowest NPS score stickers, however, were slapped on Hathway.
The report clearly indicates that Jio's broadband speeds have been very consistent, just like their reliable service. It is also worth pointing out that India had the fastest mean download speeds over fixed broadband through 2020 among the SAARC countries. There have been some strong improvements in the country from Q2 2020 onwards thanks to robust fiber line deployment.
Ookla Q4 2020 report: Mobile Data speeds
Moving on to mobile data, Vi was found to have the fastest mean mobile download speeds during Q4 2020. It was followed by Airtel with a similar user rating of 3.1. Aitel's NPS, however, was lower than that of Vi. Jio was third on the list with a rating of 2.9, which means there's a lot of room for improvement.
Among the SAARC countries, India was found to be the third slowest in mean mobile download speeds throughout 2020. Interestingly, Maldives was the only SAARC country with an active 5G during 2020.
The Ookla report also touched upon the country's 5G rollout roadmap. Airtel's commercial 5G network is ready to roll out services in the country once the spectrum is allocated in late 2021 or early 2022. Airtel even conducted successful trials in Hyderabad. Vi India will also wait for the spectrum allocation. Jio, on the other hand, is also preparing to roll out its home-grown O-RAN 5G network.
It remains to be seen if these telcos will be able to secure sufficient wireless spectrum to roll out a stable and reliable 5G connection. The report claims that the 5G tech will not be able to deliver ultra-fast speeds and low-latency that are being promised by these advanced products and services based on 5G.
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Karthik Iyer
Karthik is the resident laptop expert at Digit. You'll find plenty of reviews, news, how-to, & opinion pieces from him here. When he's not running benchmarks or playing Jenga with laptops, you'll find him in front of his PC, raging over a video game. View Full Profile
