5G rollout in India to potentially increase download speeds by 10 times vs 4G: Ookla

The commercial launch of 5G network in India has the potential to increase the median download speeds by up to 10 times, as compared to 4G-LTE, according to findings from internet testing firm Ookla.

“It’s impossible to say exactly how fast 5G will be for the average Indian user, given uncertainty over exact spectrum allocations and rollout plans.. but it’s safe to say 5G will bring a considerable bump to overall speeds in the country,” it said.

The Department of Telecommunications is yet to come out with a clear roadmap for the 5G roll out but Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea were allotted 5G trial spectrum in May.

The Big 3 telcos have already started 5G field trials across various cities in the mid and mmWave bands in partnership with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung. Jio is also piloting its own 5G radio and core technologies in Navi Mumbai.

Ookla underlined that Jio is already showing an increase in performance since March 2021 owing to its additional spectrum holding.

Its median download speeds have increased from 5.96Mbps in March 2021 to 13.08Mbps in June. Its upload speeds, too, have witnessed an uptick.

The Mukesh Ambani-led telco had emerged as the top buyer in the spectrum auction conducted by the telecom department in March this year. It had acquired 488.35MHz of airwaves in 600, 1800, and 2300 bands for Rs 57,122.65 crore.

However, “…the delay in the 5G rollout would eventually benefit the operators as they can procure the network equipment at a lower cost. The adoption of Open RAN system by the Indian operators will further aid in bringing down the overall cost of 5G rollout,” Ookla said.

Ookla said its findings are based on data from other Asian markets that have recently launched 5G (both Thailand and the Philippines launched 5G in Q1 2020 and Q2 2020, respectively), showing a potential difference between 4G-LTE and 5G speeds of an average of 9-10 times in Q2 2021.

5G smartphone prices have also come down and this trend will continue, spurred by partnerships such as Jio Platforms’ with Google, Ookla said.

As per IDC’s analysis, India stood at fourth position, following China, USA, and Japan, in terms of 5G shipments of 5 million with the lowest average selling price at $410.

Analysts told ET that handset makers are expected to ship up to 32-40 million 5G smartphones by the end of the 2021 calendar year, with an expected inflow of more affordable 5G devices at sub-$200.