Compared with Europe, Indian consumers were the most likely to get the latest standalone version of the mobile technology and the least likely to be palmed off with “fake 5G”. This is the key finding of new research by spectrum experts PolicyTracker, using their free SignalTracker app.
Tests from India have shown the country to have a higher proportion of 5G standalone than our European sample – while also having the smallest percentage of ‘fake 5G’ results.
The data comes from SignalTracker between May and October 2025, where 5G accounted for 24% of tests in India.
Figure 1 Mobile technologies used in selected countries
5G standalone (5G SA) is the newest version of 5G and is independent of the existing 4G network. For users, this means faster speeds, greater capacity and lower latency. 5G non-standalone (5G NSA), while an improvement over 4G, still uses the 4G computer network.
India has the most 5G SA in our results making up 20% of its tests, while 5G NSA was just 4%. The UK is a revealing comparison: it has only 4% of 5G SA results. Spain and Finland come closer to India, with 10% and 15% of 5G SA respectively. This shows India’s push towards the adoption of new 5G infrastructure without reliance on 4G networks.
Judged from another perspective, Finland’s performance is also impressive. 87% of its tests are on either type of 5G: the highest of any sample country.
What is ‘fake 5G’?
‘Fake 5G’ – or 4G with a 5G icon – is when phones show the 5G icon, when in reality they are connected to 4G on a base station which could potentially offer 5G. This is misleading to the user, and frustrating considering the costs of 5G phone contract.
We record these ‘fake 5G’ results separately and as the graph below shows India performs the best against this measure.
Figure 2 A comparison of the proportion of ‘fake 5G’ results across five countries
Comparing download speeds
However, download speeds in India are a more mixed picture. The country performs well in 5G NSA, producing the second highest average – 107 Mbps – beaten only by Finland with 229 Mbps.
In our 5G SA speed tests, India had the lowest average: 44.19 Mbps.
In reality, a mobile download speed of 20 Mbps is enough to watch HD videos, stream music and handle video calls. But this remains an interesting metric as it shows the capabilities of the network.
Figure 3 Average download speed comparison in Mbps
Conclusion
India’s performance is 5G is impressive. While operators in many European countries are predominantly offering 5G NSA, India is leapfrogging the interim stage and has shot ahead to offering predominately 5G standalone.
This could have important benefits for economic development, meaning faster speeds, better network capacity and new industrial services based on network slicing, which requires 5G SA.
It is also to be commended for being more straightforward with customers: rarely telling users they have 5G when it is actually 4G.
• Want to learn more about fake 5G and what it means for you? This month SignalTracker appeared on BBC TV in the UK as part of a segment exploring the phenomenon. Links to the programme and an online article appear on the SignalTracker website.
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