When Reliance Jio first launched, people enjoyed LTE speeds peaking at 135Mbps. After the September 5 launch, the number of users has increased significantly. And as user base widened, speed began to drop. Many users began complaining about unstable internet connectivity and drastic drop in internet speeds. While the LTE speeds can vary depending on the coverage area and signal strength, recent data by Ookla, the speed test app reveals that Reliance Jio speeds are going down day-by-day.
From 18Mbps+ to Less Than 9 Mbps
A report by medium.com suggests that the mean download speed for 4G capable phones decreased 23% month-over-month, peaking at about 18Mpbs in March 2016 and spiraling downward to 8.7Mbps in September 2016. 8.7Mbps is the mean download speed. There have been cases where users have seen speeds at the extreme end of the bar – speeds as low as 0.5Mbps and speeds as high as 25Mbps. The reason for speed drops could be that 4G networks in India are being stretched to their limits. The demand for Jio 4G SIM continues to grow day-by-day so much so that Reliance Jio outlets have begun to restrict the number of 4G SIMs to less than 10 per day. Reliance recently brought in the mandatory barcode system to ensure only one 4G SIM is availed for one device.
Despite Drop In Speeds, Reliance Jio Continues to Stay Ahead
Although speeds have begun to drop, the above chart makes it clear that the number of Jio speed tests are way above than any other carrier tests. Of 24M tests, nearly 20M account for Jio and the paltry 4M account for other carriers. For a network that was made public in September 2016, 20M is indeed a significant number. As you can see the graph shows a peak in the number of Jio tests in September 2016, when compared to other months.
Well, whether or not Jio network is delivering the speeds it promised, one thing is for sure – Reliance Jio 4G has altered the landscape of Indian telecom industry in profound and interesting ways. The shift in Indian telecom market – let’s not forget that Indian telecom market is a huge one – may alter and affect telecom markets worldwide. Just for a comparison, the average mobile internet speed in the United States is about 20Mbps. If Reliance Jio boosts the existing infrastructure to provide speeds that was promised, India could very well be one of those countries that can boast about high internet speeds.
For now, 18Mbps speed is a big deal. For a country with such a large population, providing speeds that Jio is providing right now is not a joke. Let’s just hope that the speeds don’t drop any further.