India ahead of some G20 nations: Ookla

India’s mobile data speed increased by 115 per cent fanned by 5G roll outs, and the country’s ranking rose 49 places on the Speedtest Global Index in a short span to 69th position in January 2023, ahead of some G20 nations such as Russia and Argentina, according to Ookla. Comparing the performance of Jio and Airtel, Ookla insight report shows that in January 2023, the early adopters of Jio’s 5G experienced data speed ranging from 246.49 Mbps median download speed in Himachal Pradesh to 506.25 Mbps in Kolkata, while Airtel’s 5G early adopters experienced speed ranging from a 78.13 Mbps median download speed in Kolkata to 268.89 Mbps in Delhi. The report also studied churn pattern of Speedtest users from January to December 2022, and revealed that Vodafone Idea has been losing users throughout 2022 and post 5G launch, the ”disconnections increased significantly”. Overall the ”big leap” in India’s mobile speed performance, aided by 5G, has put the nation ahead of some of the G20 countries such as Mexico, Russia, and Argentina, and its neighbors (Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan). India is also catching up with the likes of Turkey (a 30.98 Mbps median download speed and ranked 65 on the Speedtest Global Index), South Africa (34.71 Mbps and 58th place), and Brazil (35.85 Mbps and 57th place). Ookla, the global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights on Wednesday released its report on India’s performance post launch of 5G services. According to it, the median download speed across India increased by 115 per cent, from a 13.87 Mbps median download speed in September 2022 to 29.85 Mbps in January 2023. As a result, India’s position on the Speedtest Global Index improved by 49 places from 118 in September 2022 to 69 in January 2023. Analysing the churn pattern of Speedtest users from January to December 2022, the report showed that VIL (Vi) has been losing subscribers during 2022 and disconnections increased notably following the 5G launch.