Kolkata best city for 4G availability in India: OpenSignal

Kolkata has emerged as India's leading telecom circle for 4G availability, recording a score of 90.7 per cent, according to London-based wireless coverage mapping company OpenSignal.

The findings highlight the rapid expansion of 4G connectivity across the country, with all 22 telecom circles recording availability scores above 80 per cent. Punjab ranked second with 89.8 per cent, followed by Bihar at 89.2 per cent, Madhya Pradesh at 89.1 per cent and Odisha at 89 per cent.

OpenSignal said the figures were particularly notable given that India had introduced 4G services only in 2012. The company analysed 90 days of data beginning in May 2018 to assess how frequently users in different parts of the country were able to access an LTE connection.

Several of the best-performing telecom circles were located in eastern and northern India, continuing a trend identified in OpenSignal's earlier analysis of LTE availability in major Indian cities.

In an April assessment, Patna had topped the 4G availability rankings among India's major cities, finishing ahead of Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. At that time, Mumbai stood 15th and Delhi 17th among the country's 20 largest cities.

The latest assessment showed some improvement for the two metropolitan centres. Delhi moved up to 12th place, while Mumbai ranked 13th.

OpenSignal said the planned spectrum auction by the Indian government could further improve network availability as telecom operators gain access to additional spectrum and expand their networks.

The rapid growth of 4G has also been driven by the expansion of affordable smartphones and the aggressive rollout of Reliance Jio's network. According to market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR), rural India accounted for around 83 million of the country's 238 million 4G subscriptions by December 2017.

CMR projected that India's 4G subscriber base could reach 432 million by 2020. It also estimated that about 35 per cent of those users could be using 4G-enabled feature phones, underlining the potential for mobile internet to reach consumers beyond major cities and smartphone users.

The figures point to a broader shift in India's digital landscape, with improved 4G availability increasingly extending high-speed mobile connectivity to smaller cities and rural areas as well as established metropolitan markets.