Airtel data network has performed better than main rivals Jio, Vodafone and Idea during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj from January 14-March 4, 2019, according to Ookla report released today.
Airtel customers have experienced 15.83 Mbps download speed and 4.67 Mbps upload speed.

Reliance Jio smartphone users have experienced 8.04 Mbps download speed and 4.79 Mbps upload speed.

Vodafone customers have experienced 7.61 Mbps download speed and 3.03 Mbps upload speed.

Idea Cellular customers have experienced 5.16 Mbps download speed and 3.93 Mbps upload speed.

India’s mobile operators have made investment as part of the strategy in improving customer experience during the Kumbh Mela.

Airtel has deployed Massive MIMO to expand network capacity.

Reliance Jio has launched an app that included real-time info on events and a family locator. Vodafone Idea has offered an RFID tag to help locate children.

The report said Airtel’s emphasis on increasing capacity paid off in speed with their mean download speed in the vicinity of the Kumbh Mela coming in 96.9 percent faster than that of second-place Jio. Vodafone was third and Idea a distant fourth.

Indian mobile operators use different MCC / MNC codes in different parts of the country, which allows us to differentiate speeds for customers who are “roaming” between telecom circles.

Ookla compared mobile data speeds experienced during the time of the Kumbh Mela for customers from eastern Uttar Pradesh with those visiting this area from elsewhere in the country. It excluded mobile data for the Kerala and North East telecom circles for reasons of sample size.

Smartphone customers visiting from seven telecom circles such as Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, UP West, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh showed faster mean download speeds in eastern Uttar Pradesh than local customers.

Customers visiting in UP East from 12 telecom circles such as Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, Haryana, Maharashtra and Goa, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Mumbai saw slower mean download speeds than local UP East customers.

The percentage of time consumers spent on 4G network was similar in their home telecom circles and when “roaming” in UP East.