 "Even below Pak! India's 4G speed is three times slower than global average")
Even though India has reached the 15th spot in 4G availability globally, the average download speed of 5.1 Mbps in the country is less than a third of the global average and only marginally higher than the global 3G speed of 4.4 Mbps, revealed a report by OpenSignal, a London-based wireless coverage mapping company.
In fact, all of India's operators fell well short of the 17.4 Mbps global average for 4G download speed.
Download speeds in India have dropped more than one megabit per second in the last six months as traffic has surged, mainly on the back of Reliance Jio Infocomm’s free services.
"Jio's nationwide 4G launch in September attracted 100 million LTE subscribers, making 4G services far more accessible in India but at the expense of lower average speeds," said the report.
India, which ranked 74th out of 75 countries, came below the likes of Pakistan and Sri Lanka and just ahead of Costa Rica in terms of speed.
"But while signals may be plentiful in India, capacity isn't. India has some of the slowest LTE speeds in the world," the report added.
Singapore scored the highest in 4G speed while South Korea scored highest in 4G availability. The global average 4G download speed was 16.2 Mbps.
For its report, OpenSignal collected data from regular consumer smartphones under conditions of normal usage and covered 75 countries.
Mobile data explosion driven by the Jio launch and freebies or promotional offers by incumbent telcos, is putting huge pressure on mobile network infrastructure which results in low speeds.
One subscription. Two world-class reads.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
SAVE 25%
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Subscribe
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors
Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share
Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor
Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements
Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
SAVE 25%