India has beaten developed countries like the UK and Japan in mobile speed, according to Ookla. India's speed performance has zoomed up 3.59 times with the launch of 5G services. The 5G has turbocharged mobile download speeds, pushing India's ranking 72 notches higher to the 47th spot in Speedtest Global Index, ahead of nations like Japan, the UK, and Brazil.
India is also ahead of its neighbours like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, as well as G20 countries, such as Mexico (90th), Turkey (68th), the UK (62nd), Japan (58th), Brazil (50th place), and South Africa (48th place).
1. UAE (210.89 mbps)
2. Qatar (192.71 mbps)
3. Kuwait ( 153.86 mbps)
4. Norway (134.45 mbps)
5. Denmark (124 mbps)
6. China (122.89 mbps)
7. South Korea (120.08 mbps)
8. Macau (SAR) (112.33 mbps)
9. Iceland (110.02 mbps)
10. Netherlands (107.42 mbps)
47. India (50.21 mbps)
As per Ookla, the mobile speed performance has seen a 3.59 times increase since the introduction of 5G, with median download speeds improving to 50.21 Mbps in August 2023, from 13.87 Mbps in September 2022.
"This improvement has led to India's rise in the Speedtest Global Index, moving up 72 places, from 119th place to the 47th position," it said.
The 5G deployments have led to an improved overall user experience across all telecom circles with operators investing in backhaul infrastructure.
India's telecom behemoths like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have led to a substantial increase in 5G subscribers.
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Jio and Airtel have been implementing 5G technology since October 2022, following the acquisition of 5G spectrum licences.
Median download speeds ranged from 512.57 Mbps in Gujarat to 19.23 Mbps in Uttar Pradesh West as the networks were under development. In fact, in nine telecom circles of Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, North East, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh West, median 5G download speeds were below 100 Mbps because networks were in early testing stages.
However, by August 2023, median 5G download speeds exceeded 240 Mbps across all telecom areas, with Kolkata leading the pack with a median download speed of 385.50 Mbps, Ookla Insights Article stated.
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