Reliance Jio 4G network peaks at 70 mbps during trials

New Delhi: Download speed on 4G network of Reliance Jio during its beta-test phase peaked at 70 megabit per second but remained in 15-30 mbps range on most occasions, as per field trial report by brokerage firm Credit Suisse.

"We experienced peak download speed of 70 mbps during our trials, and on most occasions in the 15-30 Mbps range, even on the move," a report by Credit Suisse Research Analysts Sunil Tirumalai and Chunky Shah said.

At 70 mbps download speed, a Bollywood movie size video can be downloaded in about half a minute while at 15-30 mbps the same can be downloaded in about three minutes.

The report compared commercially launched 4G service of telecom major Airtel and beta network of Reliance Jio and found "Airtel 4G giving 10-20 mbps, often slower than Jio, and 3G network speeds of sub 2 mbps (peak 7 Mbps)."

The report said download speed of Reliance Jio 4G service was impressive but "it is still an empty network". It also found urban coverage of Reliance Jio network at par with incumbents but remarked rural coverage as "poor".

During trials analysts experienced call drop-free Reliance Jio network in Mumbai but lost signal 3-4 times when they entered on village roads.

Analysts said that they experienced seamless phone call experience between RJio and network of other telecom operators.

"Overall, our take away is that the Reliance Jio network is turning out to be as strong a threat to incumbents as we had feared. Next focus would be on pricing and marketing execution," the report said.

Reliance Jio is expected to launch 4G services this month.

Credit Suisse analysts said that the speeds will fall once a commercial launch happens and more users get on to the network but globally 4G has delivered better speed than 3G services.

"Until the rural network is fixed, Reliance Jio could enter into roaming agreements with other operators. We suspect Jio would use sub-1GHz spectrum for rural coverage," the report said.

Commenting on handset availability for Reliance Jio's 4G service, the report said that ZTE is making Reliance Jio's LYF branded 4G handset and some handsets of Samsung, LG, Lenovo and ZTE also supported VoLTE calls.