India has acquired 69th position by jumping 10 spots in January 2023, amongst median mobile speeds global ranking according to the Speedtest Global Index by network intelligence and connectivity insights company Ookla. During the month, the country’s mean mobile download speed stood at 29.85 Megabits per second (Mbps) as against 25.29 Mbps in December last year. In November last year, the country stood at 105th position, whereas in October last year the country stood at 113th ranking.

In the median fixed broadband speed test category, the country jumped two spots to 79th in January against 81st ranking in December last year. The country’s median broadband speed stood at 50.02 Mbps from 49.14 Mbps in December. India stood at 81st ranking in November last year amongst the fixed broadband category.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) jumped one spot to lead the median mobile speed test category with 161.15 Mbps mobile download speeds, whereas Singapore retained its position to lead the median fixed broadband category with 234.55 Mbps of mobile speeds.

The Speedtest Global Test index is a monthly internet speed test ranking for countries and cities. Ookla's Speedtest Global Index compares speed test data from around the world each month. Data for the Global Index comes from the hundreds of millions of tests taken by real people using speed tests every month to test their Internet performance, the company said.

Amongst cities, Dubai jumped two spots to top the median mobile speed test category by having 204.37 Mbps of download speed, whereas China’s capital Beijing topped the broadband speed test category by having 277.57 Mbps of download speed.

The development comes amidst the rapid adoption and launch of 5G services across Indian cities. According to the India Mobile Broadband Index report, India is expected to have around 150 million 5G subscribers by 2024, aided by faster adoption in the second half of 2023.

The combined 4G and 5G subscriber base in the country will rise to 990 million by 2024, as per the report.

Cumulative 5G smartphone shipments will cross the 100 million mark in Q2 2023, surpassing 4G smartphone shipments by the end of 2023, the report said, adding that more than 70 million 5G devices were shipped to India in 2022.

According to a combined report by Deloitte India and CII, India's telecom industry is expected to grow by $12.5 billion every three years as 5G will accelerate economic growth, increasing job opportunities and connecting the urban and rural population.

In October last year, Ookla said the country’s 5G download speeds reached 500 Mbps on test networks with Reliance Jio Infocomm clocking almost 600 Mbps median download speed on its 5G network in Delhi. In the national capital, Airtel reached nearly 200 Mbps median download speed at 197.98 Mbps while Jio recorded 598.58 Mbps since June 2022.

Fixed Broadband Download

India jumps 10 spots to 69th ranking in median mobile speeds globally: Ookla