India Increases Minimum Broadband Speed Requirement

Context:

• The definition of broadband has changed in India, requiring a minimum speed of 2 Mbps from telecom operators. 
  • The previous requirement was 512 Kbps since 2013. 

Background:

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had formally recommended the new speed to the DoT in September 2021. 
• By the previous definition, there were 825.38 million broadband users in India in November 2022, according to TRAI data.
• The effort to update this definition has been ongoing for over a decade, by which time the internet speeds in the country outpaced 2Mbps by orders of magnitude. 
• The National Telecom Policy 2012 had set a goal of updating the definition of broadband to 2Mbps by 2015.

New definition of Broadband:

• Broadband is a data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 2 Mbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide Broadband service.

Inclusions in broadband definition:

• The definition of broadband includes both wired and wireless connections and it is not limited to home WiFi connections only, government statistics include faster mobile internet connections as well.

Median broadband speed in India:

• The median wired broadband speed in India is over 75 Mbps and for wireless broadband (mobile) it is over 36 Mbps. These speeds are likely to increase as 5G coverage on networks expands.

Industry resistance:

• The industry resisted the definition update due to potential implications when 4G networks cannot serve at least 2 Mbps.
  •  For example, due to network congestion from too many devices connected to a single tower or due to the user being too far from their nearest base station. 
• The Cellular Operators Association of India filed in 2020 stating that the actual speed available to the customer will vary due to dynamic factors and that the present definition of 512 Kbps for broadband should be continued to focus on affordability and availability.

Current Broadband Statistics

• As of November 2022, there were 825.38 million broadband users in India according to TRAI data.
• The median wired broadband speed in India is over 75 Mbps and for wireless broadband it is over 36Mbps, according to December 2022 data from Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index.

News Source: The Hindu