5G was 16.5 times faster than 4G in October: report

Even though 5G services are yet to be rolled out on a country-wide scale in India, early adopters have seen significant benefits from the next generation technology. According to data from UK-based telecom analytics firm OpenSignal, early adopters of the technology have recorded high upload and download speeds, leading to better experiences with video streaming and multiplayer gaming, among other things.

According to the company’s report, average download speeds for 5G usage in India during October were 16.5 times faster than speeds on 4G, rising to 242.1 Mbps against 14.7 Mbps on 4G networks. The peak download speed on 5G was 690.6 Mbps, which was 11.6 times higher than the 59.5 Mbps seen on 4G.

5G has also enhanced upload speeds for users. OpenSignal’s data showed that users received average upload speeds of 21.2 Mbps, which was 5.4 times faster than the 3.9 Mbps recorded on 4G. Better upload speeds can improve the experience of remote workers and users who frequently upload video content on social media.

Further OpenSignal’s analysis also showed that that users in India rated their video streaming experience ‘very good' on 5G networks, with a score of 72.8 out of 100. In comparison, 4G users rated their video streaming experience as ‘fair’ and gave a score of 42.8 out of 100. The company says that a 'very good' rating for video experience indicates fast loading times with occasional disruptions.

Similarly, users in India also rated their multiplayer gaming experience on 5G as 'fair' with a score of 67.9 out of 100. When connected to 4G, users rated the gaming experience as 'poor' with a score of 56.9. 

“These findings prove that 5G delivers a significantly improved mobile network experience in India compared to older 4G services. However, it's essential to understand that 5G is still very new in India, with relatively fewer 5G users in limited locations,” said Hardik Khatri, data analyst at OpenSignal.

This is a significant shift from early experiences reported by users on social media after the October rollouts of 5G networks. As reported by Mint at the time, many users experienced stutters in video streams, delays in loading information on navigation apps, and a significant increase in data consumption. Analysts attributed the issues to limited coverage.

“When telcos launched 5G services in several cities of India, people didn’t know that it would be available only in a few pockets in those cities. This led to a hue and cry on special media as many users felt deceived,” said Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst and founder of TechARC, a market researcher.

Kawoosa also pointed out that many of the issues reported by early adopters of 5G services still remain. “The problem is that there are not enough towers to provide 5G coverage across all locations. Unless that is resolved people will continue to face issues,” he added. 

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio were the first telcos to roll out 5G services in October. Airtel has announced 5G services in 12 Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Patna, Guwahati, Varanasi and Bengaluru. Jio announced its services in 10 Indian cities and 33 district headquarters of Gujarat.