5G experience in tier-2 cities gets a boost: report

5G mobile users in tier-2 Indian cities have witnessed a significant improvement in download speeds and video streaming experience over 4G between November 1 and January 29, according to a new report by OpenSignal, released Monday. 

OpenSignal found that the average 5G download speed across 22 telecom circles was 12.2 to 26.2 times faster, while the video experience was 19.9% to 32.4% better and the gaming experience was 14% to 44.4% better than 4G.  

Tier-2 cities such as Surat, Siliguri, Raipur, Vadodara, and Nagpur reported the highest improvement in 5G download speeds. That said, Kolkata saw the highest improvement in average download speeds across all Indian cities. 

In terms of video downloads, Siliguri reported a 34.4% better 5G video experience, while Guwahati and Srinagar saw a 29.2% and 28.6% improvement, respectively. In comparison, a tier 1 city like Mumbai only saw a 25.7% improvement in the video experience. 

Further, the Open Signal report shows that in the gaming experience, Mumbai circle scored 78.8 out of 100, which puts it in the Good (75-85) category. In comparison, 14 other circles were in the Fair (65-75) category, while the remaining seven circles, which included West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Odisha, and North-East were in the Poor (40-65) category. 

5G services were rolled out in India last October, but due to limited coverage and the installation of fewer base stations in the first few months, many users were unable to access it or leverage its actual benefits such as higher bandwidth and lower latency. 

According to OpenSignal, lower latency leads to quick load times while a consistent throughput can minimize buffering during video streaming. 

Airtel and Reliance Jio are two of the leading 5G service providers in India. Airtel claims its 5G services are available across 500 Indian cities, while Jio’s 5G services are available in 400 cities. Last week Jio announced that it has installed close to 1 lakh telecom towers for 5G.