Jio Leads in Download Speeds, Airtel in Uploads: TRAI Study

Reported by Tanay Singh Thakur February 17th, 2025 at 01:26 pm

Note that the data shared by TRAI isn't exclusively for the 5G networks. The speeds are an average of what the users are getting. TRAI conducted studies in cities including Mysuru City and Mysuru to Malavalli Highway, Dharamshala, Chennai, Chandigarh, and Kolkata.

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Highlights

Reliance Jio, with the most widespread 5G network in India leads in the download speeds while its arch rival Airtel leads in the uploads department.
The data has been shared for select cities by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Jio has 5G SA (standalone), while Airtel has 5G NSA (non-standalone).

jio leads in download speeds airtel in

Reliance Jio, with the most widespread 5G network in India leads in the download speeds while its arch rival Airtel leads in the uploads department. The data has been shared for select cities by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Jio has 5G SA (standalone), while Airtel has 5G NSA (non-standalone). Note that the data shared by TRAI isn't exclusively for the 5G networks. The speeds are an average of what the users are getting. TRAI conducted studies in cities including Mysuru City and Mysuru to Malavalli Highway, Dharamshala, Chennai, Chandigarh, and Kolkata.

Reliance Jio has access to the premium 700 MHz band in India for 5G. No other Indian telecom operator has access to this band. Despite this, Airtel's leading in the uploads segment in these cities.

In Mysuru, Jio led with an average download speed of 243.10 Mbps. Airtel was in second with an average download speed of 164.44 Mbps, so quite a difference. In the uploads segment, Airtel had an upload speed of 37.76 Mbps while Jio was in the second with 25.14 Mbps. In all of the above mentioned cities, there was a similar trend.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) and BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) weren't even close to the download and upload speeds of Airtel and Jio because of the absence of 5G. BSNL hasn't even deployed a comparable 4G network. Speeds for Vodafone Idea should improve in the near future as the telco has given a timeline for the commercial 5G launch in India.

When it comes to the 5G subscriber base, Jio has the largest in India. Both Jio and Airtel are offering their 5G network services at no-additional cost to the users with 2GB daily data plans. For the forseeable future, the trend is likely going to remain the same.