Both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have launched their 5G networks. If you want to experience them, you need to have a SIM that is purchased in one of the cities that the telcos have launched 5G in. Jio has launched 5G in four cities, while Airtel has launched it in eight cities. The 5G networks of both operators are available in Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Kolkata. These cities are already giving users an experience of what 5G is. But the rollout is very limited, and thus only select areas of the city are covered with 5G. Ookla has published the data of median download speeds delivered by both operators since June 2022 on their test networks.
Reliance Jio vs Airtel 5G Speed in Four Cities
Let’s take a look at the median download speeds delivered by Airtel and Jio in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi. Ookla said that Speedtest Intelligence shows that the telcos were testing their 5G networks before the October 1, 2022 launch. Jio vs Airtel 5G Median Download Speed in Delhi:
Jio - 598.58 Mbps Airtel - 197.98 Mbps
Jio vs Airtel 5G Median Download Speed in Mumbai:
Jio - 515.38 Mbps Airtel - 271.07 Mbps
Jio vs Airtel 5G Median Download Speed in Kolkata:
Jio - 482.02 Mbps Airtel - 33.83 Mbps
Jio vs Airtel 5G Median Download Speed in Varanasi:
Jio - 485.22 Mbps Airtel - 516.57 Mbps
Note that the data here comes from the test networks and thus the speeds aren’t from stable networks. As the commercial availability of 5G expands and the telcos recaliberate their networks for better performance, the data could look entirely different. Vodafone Idea is not in this list because the telco hasn’t launched 5G but is confident about launching it in the near future. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are both using 3.5 GHz band spectrum to deliver 5G to users in different parts of the nation currently.
