Ookla’s latest Connectivity Report for July-December 2024 shows a competitive telecom landscape in India, with Reliance Jio leading in speed metrics and Bharti Airtel excelling in quality of experience. Based on millions of consumer-initiated Speedtest measurements, the report reveals significant variations in network performance across technologies and regions.
Reliance Jio was the fastest mobile network, achieving a Speed Score of 174.89, with median download speeds of 158.63 Mbps and upload speeds of 8.93 Mbps. Jio maintained a strong lead in 5G services, recording median download speeds of 258.54 Mbps, more than double Airtel’s 5G performance. Vodafone Idea (Vi) lagged behind, with median download speeds of 21.60 Mbps.
Bharti Airtel outperformed Jio in user experience metrics, achieving the highest Video Streaming Score (76.58) and 5G Gaming Score. This suggests better optimisation for real-time applications despite slower raw speeds.
Jaipur recorded the fastest median mobile download speed among major cities at 181.68 Mbps, followed by Kolkata (146.70 Mbps) and Ahmedabad (135.21 Mbps). Mumbai ranked lowest at 75.75 Mbps, with Pune and Chennai also below the national average. Jio led in speed across all nine cities analysed.
In the fixed broadband segment, Excitel recorded median download speeds of 117.21 Mbps and upload speeds of 110.96 Mbps, demonstrating a balanced network architecture compared to traditional asymmetric DSL and cable offerings.
The report also assessed internet service providers (ISPs) on speed, video streaming, and gaming experience. ACT had the highest Video Streaming Score (84.12) and led in gaming experience, highlighting its ability to provide a stable and fast network.
Excitel was the best fixed network provider during the review period. Bengaluru had the highest median fixed download speed at 90.2 Mbps, followed by Delhi and Chennai. Excitel was the fastest in Bengaluru, Delhi, Surat, and Jaipur, while ACT led in Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Surat recorded the lowest median download speed at 50.21 Mbps, with Jaipur and Kolkata also showing slower speeds. Excitel led in Surat and Jaipur, while ACT was the fastest in Ahmedabad.
Excitel showed strong consistency across multiple cities, including Bengaluru and Delhi, achieving more than 80% consistency. Low latency in these cities is essential for web browsing, video streaming, and gaming.
In Bengaluru, Excitel was the fastest provider with a download speed of 90.2 Mbps, upload speed of 87.54 Mbps, latency of 13.18 ms, and 84.3% consistency. In Delhi, Excitel achieved 84.88 Mbps download and 79.19 Mbps upload speeds with 83.2% consistency. ACT led in Chennai with 79.3 Mbps download and 73.76 Mbps upload speeds at 82.1% consistency. Tata Play Fiber was the fastest in Pune, while Excitel maintained its lead in Hyderabad.
Ookla’s Speed Score considers both download and upload performance while accounting for device capabilities. The consistency metric measures the percentage of users experiencing minimum thresholds (5 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload for mobile).
Industry analysts note these results reflect ongoing infrastructure investments, with Jio’s extensive 5G rollout contrasting with Airtel’s focus on service quality. The findings come as TRAI increases its focus on quality of service metrics beyond raw speed.
