At 6Mbps, Reliance Jio's 4G speed is now almost half of Airtel 4G speed: CLSA report

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel improved fourth-generation (4G) data speeds and while Reliance Jio data speeds fell across 17 circles to half of the market leader in the month of October, a CLSA research report said.

The finding analyses sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) speed test data based on 2.5 million and 0.5 million samples on the 4G and 3G networks, respectively.

At 6Mbps, Reliance Jio's speeds were similar to the average speeds of Idea Cellular and Vodafone at 7Mbps but well below Bharti Airtel's 11.5Mbps speed, the CLSA report said.

In contrast to Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular, Reliance Jio's network showed a 20% fall in speeds -- from 7.2Mbps in September to 6Mbps.

"During October, Bharti Airtel improved 4G speeds and expanded its 4G service to 19 of the total 22 markets, Reliance Jio saw a fall in data speeds across 17 markets to average 6Mbps, which is comparable to the speeds of Idea Cellular and Vodafone," according to CLSA.

Of the four large operators, Bharti Airtel and Aditya Birla group's Idea Cellular have improved or maintained 4G data speeds, while Reliance Jio and country's second-largest operator Vodafone had seen a fall, according to Trai's statistics.

The finding also points out that 4G data speed were still 2-to 3-fold higher than 3G which could continue to drive subscribers migration to 4G services.

CLSA feels that if Reliance Jio's 4G speeds do not improve, the Mukesh Ambani-driven telecom company may extend freebies beyond December, adding to the data pricing risks of incumbents.

"We are positively surprised by the network outperformance of Bharti Airtel and maintain that it remains a key driver of market share gains," the Hong Kong-based firm said.

During the second-half of the FY17, the company anticipates 30% year-on-year and 25% year-on-year declines in the data realisation of Bharti and Idea, respectively when compared to 20% year-on-year decline in the first-half of FY17.

CLSA said that with Reliance Jio's launch, with an objective to defend market share, incumbents have launched several promotional offers that have impacted their data realisations.

Jio launched commercial services on September 5, offering freebies including unlimited data to new customers for a limited period to attract subscribers.
Source : Gadgetnow