Reliance Jio was the only Indian telecom operator which went for the 700 MHz spectrum during the recently concluded 5G spectrum auctions. During the auctions, all the telcos bid for the mmWave (millimetre wavelength) frequencies and mid-band frequencies. Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) did not bid for the 700 MHz airwaves for strategic reasons. Jio is now the only telco in the country that will deploy 5G using the sub-GHz spectrum. As per Ookla, a global leader in network intelligence and insights, Jio is at an advantage over other telecom operators because of gaining access to 700 MHz airwaves for 5G. Ookla said that low-band spectrum allows for better indoor signal penetration in urban areas and also better coverage in rural areas. Ookla shared the different speeds achieved on Jio’s 5G networks when different spectrum bands were engaged. On the C-band (n78), the results were between 606.53 Mbps and 875.26 Mbps median download speed. On the lower band (n28), the speeds were lower than 100 Mbps median download speed. This shouldn’t be surprising for anyone as the n28 band is meant for delivering better coverage, not super-fast speeds. For the speed, there’s the C-band. “Airtel, on the other hand, achieved speeds from 365.48 Mbps to 716.85 Mbps deploying 5G utilizing only its C-band spectrum holding,” Ookla said.
