In April 2012, Airtel first launched it's 4G services in India with the motive of providing the fastest wireless network. Then in July 2015, it started it's 4G campaign and Airtel achieved that milestone which no other campaign had achieved at that time – high recall value. Till now, Airtel was ruling this spot and still is but on 5th September 2016 Jio locked horns with Airtel when they commercially launched the 4G services and on 22nd February it crossed 100 million subscribers.

Airtel achieved the download speed of 10.26 Mbps and upload speed of 3.59 Mbps with the speed score of 9.05

Speed Test Award by Ookla

In 2017, Airtel was declared the winner in speed test award for the mobile network during Q3-Q4. Airtel achieved the average download speed of 10.26 Mbps and average upload speed of 3.59 Mbps with the speed score of 9.05. This declaration, however, created a conflict between Jio and Airtel where Mukesh Ambani accused Ookla and Airtel of false advertising which had a negative impact on Jio services. He claimed that there is a clear contamination in primary data collected by Ookla in India. Reliance Jio started questioning the speed test methodology of Ookla while stating that Ookla is not recognized by TRAI or the Department of Communications, therefore, Airtel cannot use ‘officially’ in it's advertisement.

The Seattle based company Ookla said that behind it's speed test it fully stands behind the

accuracy and reliability of it's methodology used to designate Bharti Airtel as India’s fastest mobile network. Though it also admitted that due to some limitations of Android platform the ‘active carrier value’ returned by the device does not always specify the actual data provider in devices with multiple SIMS which Jio too indicated towards this flaw.

Jio complaints to ASCI regarding Airtel's "India's Fastest Network " Claim

“In these situations, Ookla applies additional data sources and mechanisms during post-

processing to help determine the actual data carrier being tested,” it said. For example, Ookla matches the IP address of the connection which is recorded during the test to known IP blocks. On this basis, Jio petitioned the advertisement industry, Advertising Standards Council of India to take action against the false advertising but it's plea was dismissed.

Working towards transparency, Jamie Steven the Chief Operating Officer at Ookla told ET in a telephonic call that TRAI connected with them in order to know the specific details of how Ookla analyse and measure the speed and they have shared some insights on this so far. The TRAI had suggested that all data speed testers must share their official methodologies in an overt manner to make sure that stakeholders, including customers, can exactly understand accompanying the course of consumption.

After Jio accused Ookla of it's biased data Mr Stevens clarified by stating that they operate all over the world and there are few times when the companies use other sources of data but above that, they simply focus on what actually their work is and keep in mind about the accuracy towards the users.

“India is very dynamic, and it is changing the most both in terms of competitive landscape and technology,” he said. Ookla has around 439 servers in India, which helps the customers to do the speed tests and get accurate results because speed is what actually matters when it comes to internet connection.

Ookla is currently working on new features that will enable the customers to get coverage

related data and some imminent facts on home networks and over the top services. Despite what Jio alleges Airtel and Ookla against false advertisings and misleading campaign Ookla is not someone who can act biased because they are independent organizations known for their precise data on the speed tests all over the world.

Yes, the data is the accurate fact and when it is presented by the world’s top speed tester then it adds more leverage to the users. However, Jio and Airtel are somehow sharing the same position because of the expansion of Jio services all across the rural and urban areas. Eventually, the customers have that valuable feedback at the end of the day.

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