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4G speeds in India even slower than Pakistan: Is Jio to blame?

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DailyBite
DailyBiteJun 08, 2017 | 22:01

4G speeds in India even slower than Pakistan: Is Jio to blame?

The Reliance Jio revolution has seen India making it to the list of top 15 countries in terms of 4G LTE network availability; however, when it comes to download speeds, the country is far from where it would like to be.

For all the claims by the telecom industry and TRAI's efforts, India has been ranked 74 – even below countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A quick look at the report published by OpenSignal on the state of mobile internet across the world, reveals that the average download speed in the country – 5.1 Mbps – is less than a third of the global average and slightly better than the global average 3G speed of 4.4 Mbps.

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Jio to blame?

Although the report highlights the entry of Jio into the telecom sector as the driving force behind the increased availability of LTE network in the country, it cannot be ignored that it has also led to a decline in speeds. As pointed out in a report by The Economic Times, download speeds in India have dropped more than one MBPS in the last six months after Reliance Jio entered the market. 

The telecom operators entry into the market has coincided with a period of increased competition, and aggressive pricing which has resulted in an increased demand for data across the board.

The report further goes on to add that while India may have improved on connectivity, it still lacks in terms of the amount of data capacity. 

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Slow 4G speeds Jio's bane

OpenSignal in its report has termed Jio’s expansion as “a double-edged sword”, claiming that the flood of new users it has invited with its free offers has overstretched its network capacity, ultimately leading to sluggish 4G speeds.

However, what's clear is that the rest of the telecom industry is set to gain from Jio's loss. Airtel and Vodafone which OpenSignal claims provide better service, already look to be profiting from Jio's woes. 

There is no denying that Jio's "sustained predatory pricing" is bleeding its competition dry. The country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel last month reporting its lowest quarterly profit in four years, but things still look to be on the up for the company. Latest numbers hint at consumers finding their way back to the arms of older telecom players who look to be on the brink of turning a corner post a difficult period of losses.

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The latest numbers announced by TRAI in March reveal that Jio's closest rival Bharti Airtel's added over 2.99 million customers. Idea's tally grew by 2.09 million customers, while Vodafone also added 1.83 million new connections in March.

Last updated: June 08, 2017 | 22:01
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