Airtel dominates the 5G experience in India: Opensignal

The June 2025 Mobile Network Experience Report by Opensignal reveals notable shifts in customer mobile connectivity performance in India, with Jio and Airtel emerging as top contenders across key experience metrics. As mobile usage deepens across the country, the competition between India’s telecom giants continues to translate into measurable improvements in user experience.

Airtel, Jio, Vi mobile network
Airtel, Jio, Vi mobile network

Upload and Download Experience: Jio Surges Ahead

Jio has edged ahead of Airtel in Upload Speed Experience, reclaiming the award with an upload speed of 9.1 Mbps, narrowly surpassing Airtel’s 9 Mbps. Reliance Jio’s 2.7 Mbps improvement since the previous report highlights a significant network enhancement effort aimed at better supporting users’ increasing upload demands — particularly for video calls, social sharing, and cloud-based applications.

In Download Speed Experience, Jio retains its lead, becoming the first operator in India to cross the 100 Mbps milestone in Opensignal’s reporting history. While Airtel takes the crown in 5G Download Speed, both operators saw a slight dip in their 5G speed metrics — likely due to higher user adoption straining network capacity.

Airtel Dominates the 5G Experience — For Now

Airtel continues to lead India’s 5G Experience, winning all five 5G-specific categories: 5G Video Experience, 5G Live Video Experience, 5G Games Experience, and both 5G Download and Upload Speed.

Despite this, Jio is rapidly closing the gap, with marked improvements across all 5G metrics except for 5G Download Speed. Airtel’s declining 5G performance in some areas suggests that sustained leadership will depend on future infrastructure investments and optimization.

Airtel India customers are experiencing 5G download speed of 212 Mbps on their 5G smartphones. On the other hand, Jio customers are experiencing 5G download speed of 204 Mbps.

Airtel customers are experiencing 5G upload speed of 22.6 Mbps. Airtel customers are experiencing 5G upload speed of 15.1 Mbps.

Video and Live Content: Competition Tightens

In terms of Video Experience, Airtel maintains a narrow lead, but Jio is now just 0.3 points behind on the 100-point scale. Both players have shown significant improvement, with nearly four-point gains across the board, indicating an overall uplift in streaming quality. BSNL, although still trailing, showed the largest improvement with a 15-point jump — showing progress but not parity.

Coverage, Consistency, and Reliability: Jio Shines

When it comes to network coverage and consistent quality, Jio stands out as the most dependable provider. It claims the top position in Availability, 5G Availability, Consistent Quality, and Reliability Experience. This is particularly crucial for users in tier-2 and tier-3 regions, where continuous connectivity is becoming essential for work, learning, and entertainment.

5G smartphone customers on the Jio network record 5G availability 71.8 percent. For comparison, 5G smartphone customers on Airtel network record 5G availability 29.9 percent.

Key Takeaway: India’s Mobile Network Experience Is on the Rise

Across the board, users are seeing better network performance:

All four operators recorded double-digit percentage increases in Download Speed Experience.

5G rollout is driving noticeable improvements but also introducing new capacity challenges.

The battle between Airtel and Jio is fueling continuous investment and innovation, directly benefiting end users.

As Indian telecom operators scale up to meet growing demands and leverage AI, automation, and infrastructure upgrades, the mobile customer experience is set to become more seamless, consistent, and high-performing — particularly in the evolving 5G landscape.

Baburajan Kizhakedath

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