Airtel leads the race among the telecom operators in terms of download speed and consistency in quality among other parameters, according to a Tutela report.

The report said that Airtel was the fastest network, offering a median download speed of 7.4 Mbps. Vodafone Idea provided a download speed of 6.5 Mbps followed by Jio, which had a 5.3 Mbps median download speed.

“Airtel had a noticeable lead for ‘excellent consistent quality’ nearly 10 per cent better than joint second-place Jio and Vodafone Idea,” it said.

In terms of upload, Vodafone Idea led the race with a median upload speed of 3.7 Mbps, followed by Airtel (3.5 Mbps) and Jio (3.2 Mbps).

The report noted that fact that India’s telecom industry has become a fight as much for survival as for network dominance as disputes over revenues subject to tax have lead to potential difficulties for both Airtel and Vodafone Idea, while Jio, the youngest national operator in India, has now become the leading operator by both market share and revenue.

“This level of disruption, coupled with the upcoming merger of BSNL and MTNL and the advent of 5G networks potentially at some point in the next year makes it a pivotal moment in the industry as each operator looks to make the most of the current changes, or even just weather the storm,” it said.