India’s median mobile speeds improved and rose in December 2022 to the 79th position in the global rankings, amid the slow, but steady adoption of 5G, according to networking intelligence and testing company Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index report. India witnessed a significant leap in positions (26) from 105th position in November.
Median mobile download speeds in India increased from 18.26 Mbps in November to 25.29 Mbps in December, according to network intelligence and connectivity insights provider Ookla. However, the country decreased one spot in rank globally for overall median fixed broadband speeds and is now at 81st position from 80th in November.
The country's performance in fixed median download speeds witnessed a slight increase from 49.11 Mbps in November to 49.14 Mbps in December. It should be noted that Qatar led the chart for global median mobile speeds, whereas Burkina Faso jumped 22 spots in rank globally. For fixed broadband download speeds, Singapore gained the top position, and Rwanda increased 47 spots in rank globally.
In October, India recorded a 13-month high in mobile and fixed broadband download speed.
Moreover, in November last year, the country had recorded the highest median mobile download speed (from 16.50 Mbps in October to 18.26 Mbps in November).
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio recently recorded almost 600 Mbps median download speed on its 5G network in Delhi while India's overall 5G speed hit 500 Mbps as the country rolled out 5G services in October.
It has been almost four months since 5G, the next-gen telecom service that promises more-than-broadband-like internet speeds on your smartphone was launched in the country at the India Mobile Congress (IMC). Among telecom operators, only Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have been actively rolling out 5G services across several cities. State-run BSNL plans to launch 5G services in 2024, but Vodafone Idea (Vi) isn’t as actively pursuing 5G rollout as Reliance Jio or Bharti Airtel.