Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio on Wednesday claimed that Ookla’s clarification on Speedtest methodology proves that its submission that there is a clear contamination in primary data collected by Ookla in India, where nearly 90 percent of smartphones are dual SIM devices.
“With reference to the issue of the fundamental flaw in Ookla’s Speedtest methodology which Jio has pointed out repeatedly, we note that Ookla has now admitted to ‘limitations’ in its application and that it “does not always indicate the actual data provider in devices with multiple SIMs,” a Jio spokesperson said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Jio spokesperson added that any results that are based on incorrect and contaminated primary data cannot be definitive, only probabilistic.
“It is a travesty that such results are being passed off as “official” results by a market-leading operator. We will continue to expose such misleading practices and raise it at suitable forums,” the spokesperson added.
Explaining its stand, Ookla on Wednesday said that the carrier displayed in the Speedtest Android application is based on the “Active Carrier” value returned by the device.
“Due to limitations of the Android platform, the “Active Carrier” does not always indicate the actual data provider in devices with multiple SIMs. In these situations, Ookla applies additional data sources and mechanisms during post processing to help determine the actual data carrier being tested,” the company said in a statement.
Ookla said that it matches the connection IP address recorded during the test to known carrier IP blocks, which enables it to determine the actual data carrier with a high degree of confidence. Airtel’s margin of victory increased when the complete analysis was performed, the US-based company said.
Ookla reiterated that it fully stands behind the accuracy and reliability of the methodology used to designate Airtel as ‘India’s Fastest Mobile Network,’ claiming that it goes to great lengths to ensure that the information collected on any Speedtest internet test is verifiably correct.
Ookla said that data accuracy and neutrality is of the utmost importance to the company.
Reliance Jio on Tuesday said the public should not be misled by false claims based on the Ookla’s speedtest results, and it will initiate actions against the company at appropriate forums. A Jio spokesperson said that core issue is that the speedtest results are attributed to the primary SIM even though the SIM for which the data speedtest is conducted is the secondary SIM in the case of dual-sim phones.
Jio has already approached the Advertising Standards Council of India, the advertising watchdog, seeking withdrawal of Bharti Airtel’s recent advertisements based on Ookla’s speedtest results claiming that it is India’s fastest telecom network.
In addition, Jio also sent a legal notice to Ookla, saying that the latter falsely certified Bharti Airtel to be the “India’s Fastest Mobile Carrier with full knowledge of that your test “results” are fundamentally flawed and unreliable.
