India’s 5G Usage Gap: Reliance Jio and Airtel’s Diverging Paths in Network Performance
According to Opensignal, India’s leading telecom operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are revealing significant differences in their 5G performance metrics, highlighting a gap between network availability and actual user time spent on 5G. This gap underscores varying strategies and technologies shaping India’s rapidly growing 5G market.
Reliance Jio vs. Airtel: A Deep Dive into India’s 5G Metrics
Reliance Jio has achieved almost seamless 5G availability-to-usage efficiency, converting 68.1% 5G availability into 67.3% user time on 5G. This success is rooted in its Standalone (SA) architecture and 700 MHz spectrum, enhancing indoor penetration and uninterrupted 5G sessions. In contrast, Airtel achieves a close 66.6% 5G availability but falls significantly short with only 28.0% time on 5G, attributed to its Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture that relies on a 4G anchor for core operations.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) lags further behind, with just 32.5% availability and 9.7% time on 5G, reflecting its earlier-stage rollout. This performance gap among operators reinforces the importance of densifying networks through small cells and street-level infrastructure to reduce 4G fallback.
Industry Context: 5G Fixed Wireless Access and Emerging Trends
India is seeing a breakthrough in 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), addressing the country’s longstanding fiber deployment challenges. As of October 2025, the 5G FWA subscriber base has surged to 13.18 million, with Reliance Jio leading at 10.2 million subscribers compared to Airtel’s 2.5 million. Notably, Jio’s Unlicensed Band Radio (UBR) solution contributes 2.8 million subscribers by leveraging unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum for last-mile connectivity, reducing costs and accelerating adoption.
With FWA users consuming over 12 times the data of mobile users in 2024, operators are unlocking new revenue streams through tiered broadband and bundled digital home services. Jio’s aggressive FWA push has positioned it as a leader, setting the bar high for competitors as they refine monetization strategies in a post-“free 5G” era.
The Road Ahead: BSNL’s 5G Rollout and Evolving Challenges
The upcoming launch of BSNL’s indigenous 5G network, powered by technology from C-DOT and TCS, signals a strategic shift in India’s telecom landscape. Aligning with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL’s rollout aims to deploy 98,000 4G towers, ready for 5G conversion. This development introduces a competitive dynamic, especially in underserved regions where privately-operated networks have yet to reach scale.
As investor scrutiny increases ahead of Reliance Jio’s anticipated IPO, the focus is shifting from rapid rollout to maintaining consistent quality. With average data consumption nearing 40 GB per user per month, operators must ensure scalable networks that balance cost efficiency and user experience. Affordable 5G smartphones—priced under ₹10,000 ($112)—will further intensify network demands, calling for innovative solutions to sustain performance amidst exponential growth.
A Pivotal Moment for India’s 5G Future
India’s 5G journey is reaching an inflection point. From Jio’s dominance in FWA to Airtel’s push to improve NSA performance, and BSNL’s indigenous rollout, the stakes are higher than ever. How India’s telecom giants adapt to rising consumer demand and 5G’s monetization challenge will define the next phase of the nation’s digital transformation.
What do you think is the most critical factor for ensuring a reliable 5G experience as India embraces widespread adoption? Let us know in the comments below!
