India 72 places up in mobile download speed index after 5G launch: Report

Country ahead of its neighbours and some G20 nations, says Speedtest Global Index by Ookla

India moved 72 places up in a global ranking of mobile download speeds as the launch of 5G services improved services over the past year, said a report on Monday.

Download speed increased 3.59 times since the introduction of 5G, with median download speeds improving from 13.87 Mbps in 2022 to 50.21 Mbps in 2023. India moved 72 places up in the Speedtest Global Index: From 119th in September 2022 to 47th in August 2023, said Ookla, the creator of the speed test.

India’s median download speed increased 3.59 times after 5G was launched in the country. In October 2022, the median download speed ranged from 10.37 Mbps in Northeast India to 21.49 Mbps in Jammu and Kashmir. By August 2023, median download speeds had improved significantly in most parts of the country, with all telecom circles clocking a speed of more than 28 Mbps. Northeast India now has a median download speed of 28.02 Mbps and Jammu and Kashmir a high of 150.95 Mbps.

The index puts India ahead of Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan and some Group of 20 (G20) countries, such as Mexico (90th), Turkey (68th), the UK (62nd), Japan (58th), Brazil (50th), and South Africa (48th).

Ookla said mobile users in India are among the most data-intensive consumers in the world, but the country’s 4G networks have been unable to keep up with expectations, primarily due to network congestion, poor cellular infrastructure and spectrum constraints.

“Following the 5G spectrum auction, operators have been able to address some of those issues and help to offload 4G traffic onto 5G networks, thus reducing 4G network congestion – the strategy has proven successful already, as 25 per cent to 35 per cent of traffic is already getting offloaded on 5G from 4G,” said the report.

The report’s net promoter score (NPS) showed that 5G users in India consistently rate their network operators more positively compared to 4G users. Additionally, 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services have been introduced to provide broadband connectivity in areas where laying fibre is costly or impractical.