Bharti Airtel has emerged as India’s best-performing home broadband operator, outperforming Reliance Jio across all five network experience categories, including download speed, upload speed, reliability, consistent quality and video experience, according to Opensignal’s India Fixed Broadband Experience Report 2026.
Opensignal’s India Fixed Broadband Experience Report 2026, covering April 1 to June 29, 2026, reveals that Airtel maintained a significant advantage over Reliance Jio in broadband speed and network reliability despite Jio’s larger subscriber base in India’s fixed broadband and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) markets.
Airtel also secured all five FWA experience awards, strengthening its position in India’s growing 5G home internet market.
Airtel Leads Reliance Jio in Broadband Speed and Reliability
Airtel recorded an overall broadband reliability score of 486 points on Opensignal’s 100–1,000 scale, compared with 423 points for Reliance Jio. This represents a 63-point advantage, or approximately 15 percent higher reliability.
Airtel also delivered download and upload speeds approximately 26–27 percent faster than Reliance Jio.
Reliance Jio recorded an average download speed of 30.5 Mbps and upload speed of 21.0 Mbps. Based on the reported percentage differences, Airtel’s corresponding speeds were approximately 38.5–38.7 Mbps for downloads and 26.5–26.7 Mbps for uploads.
BSNL emerged as a strong competitor in broadband speed, finishing just 0.5 Mbps behind Airtel in download speed and 0.8 Mbps behind Airtel in upload speed.
These results place BSNL ahead of Reliance Jio in the overall download and upload speed comparisons, despite BSNL having a considerably smaller wired broadband subscriber base.
Airtel also secured the highest scores for Consistent Quality and Video Experience, although its advantages over Reliance Jio in these categories were narrower than its leads in speed and reliability.
Airtel Beats Jio in 5G FWA Download and Upload Speeds
Airtel demonstrated a clear performance advantage in Fixed Wireless Access, winning all five Opensignal FWA experience categories.
Its FWA download speed reached 32.4 Mbps, compared with 25.7 Mbps for Reliance Jio. Airtel’s 6.7 Mbps advantage translates into approximately 26 percent faster download performance.
Airtel also recorded FWA upload speed of 20.7 Mbps, compared with Jio’s 17.1 Mbps, giving Airtel a 21 percent advantage.
Reliance Jio’s wired broadband subscriber base was approximately 30 percent larger than Airtel’s.
Regional broadband operators, including ACT Fibernet, Kerala Vision, Excitel, GTPL, Hathway, Asianet and Netplus, also compete in the fixed broadband market through fiber networks and local cable operator partnerships.
Reliance Jio Dominates India’s 5G FWA Subscriber Market
Reliance Jio’s subscriber advantage is particularly significant in India’s expanding FWA segment.
According to TRAI, India’s 5G FWA subscriber base reached 13.5 million in August 2026.
Reliance Jio accounted for approximately 9.4 million 5G FWA subscriptions, representing nearly 70 percent of the national total.
Jio also served the entire reported 5.4 million Unlicensed Band Radio FWA subscriber base.
The operator’s JioAirFiber service crossed 14 million subscribers at the end of June 2026, accounting for approximately half of its 28.6 million fixed broadband customers.
Jio’s FWA network uses a 5G standalone architecture, supported by network slicing and licensed 3.5 GHz spectrum alongside unlicensed 5 GHz connectivity.
The company’s FWA strategy has enabled it to expand home broadband availability beyond locations served by its fiber network.
Airtel Prioritizes Fiber Expansion Over FWA Subscriber Growth
Bharti Airtel is pursuing a different home broadband expansion strategy, increasingly prioritizing fiber connectivity while using FWA in locations where fiber deployment is difficult.
According to Airtel’s Q1 FY2026-27 financial results, its Homes business reached 14.7 million customers at the end of June 2026.
The company added 473,000 Homes customers during the quarter, while Homes revenue increased 33 percent year on year.
Airtel also added approximately 8 million fiber home passes during FY2025-26 through its own network expansion and local cable operator partnerships, according to its FY2025-26 annual report.
The operator’s 5G FWA net additions declined to approximately 83,000 during April–June 2026, compared with 666,000 in the preceding quarter.
Reliance Jio added approximately 530,000 FWA subscribers during April–June 2026.
In August, Airtel added 96,000 5G FWA subscribers, compared with Jio’s 149,000. Jio also added another 230,000 UBR FWA subscribers during the month.
Airtel’s emphasis on fiber expansion follows its assessment of higher churn among some FWA customer groups and increasing equipment costs.
BSNL Competes Strongly on Broadband Speed
BSNL’s performance in Opensignal’s speed measurements stands out because its wired broadband subscriber base is significantly smaller than those of Reliance Jio and Airtel.
With approximately 4.56 million wired broadband subscribers at the end of August 2026, BSNL ranked third nationally.
Nevertheless, the operator finished only 0.5 Mbps behind Airtel in overall download speed and 0.8 Mbps behind Airtel in upload speed.
BSNL’s share of India’s wireline telephone subscribers declined from 13.85 percent in July to 13.72 percent in August 2026, a separate measure from its wired broadband subscriber share.
Airtel Wins on Network Performance While Jio Leads Subscriber Scale
The Opensignal findings highlight contrasting competitive positions among India’s leading home broadband operators.
Bharti Airtel leads on measured broadband experience, winning all five overall awards and all five FWA awards. Its strongest advantages over Reliance Jio are in network speed, reliability and FWA consistent quality.
Reliance Jio leads on subscriber scale, with 14.8 million wired broadband subscribers and approximately 9.4 million 5G FWA subscribers as of August 2026, in addition to its 5.4 million UBR FWA connections.
BSNL remains competitive in broadband speed, finishing close to Airtel in overall download and upload performance despite its smaller subscriber base.
The results reflect real-world measurements collected between April and June 2026. Average speeds and experience scores can also be influenced by the mix of broadband plans, connection technologies and customers included in each operator’s measurements.
For India’s home broadband market, the findings establish Airtel as the leader in measured network experience, while Reliance Jio retains its advantage in subscriber numbers and FWA market reach.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
