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The Speedtest results by Ookla disclosed Jio 5G network, which uses the C-band, median download speed ranging between 606.53 Mbps and 875.26 Mbps.
| City | Jio 5G speed | Airtel 5G speed |
| Delhi | 600Mbps | 197.98Mbps |
| Mumbai | 514.38Mbps | 271.01Mbps |
| Kolkata | 482.02Mbps | 33.83Mbps |
| Varanasi | 485.22Mbps | 516.57Mbps |
These were the median download speed of Airtel 5G and Jio 5G in respective cities since June 2022. As can be seen, Jio 5G has a better download speed compared to Airtel in every region except Varanasi.
"When we cross reference operators' 5G speeds versus the frequency band they are using, we see a cautionary tale," Ookla said. It further added that the test was conducted using the Speedtest Intelligence data which revealed that Jio's 5G performance differs depending on the spectrum band it uses.
Jio is doing better perhaps because it acquired the most spectrum, especially in the highly demanded C-band spectrum, during a recent spectrum auction. It is also the only telco to have a spectrum band of 700MHz. This gives an upper edge to Reliance Jio over Airtel and Vi who have only acquired C-band. The 700MHz is the low-band spectrum, which provides a cut above indoor signal penetration in both urban areas and rural areas.
Thus, when Jio uses the C-band, the performance lies somewhere between 606.53 Mbps and 875.26 Mbps median download speed. On the other hand, for the 5G network optimising the comparatively lower 700 MHz frequency band, the result then lies between 78.69 Mbps and 95.13 Mbps median download speed. While for Airtel the results lie somewhere between 365.48 Mbps to 716.85 Mbps while using its C-band spectrum holding.