Will Indian telecom regulator follow FCC in raising broadband speed limit?

Indian telecom regulator TRAI, busy with responding to questions from DoT and ministers, is yet to find time to recommend increase in broadband speed limit for consumers. From today, TRAI can follow FCC of the U.S. which is keen to keep download speeds of 10 Mbps or higher to qualify as broadband.

Reuters reported that the FCC currently defines broadband as 4 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed. The agency will seek public comment on whether those threshold connection speeds should be increased. Net users in America have 45 days to respond.

On Tuesday, FCC suggested that download speeds might need to be 10 Mbps to qualify as broadband and asked whether the minimum upload speed rate should also be higher. Netflix, a video service provider that relies on network of AT&T, Verizon, etc. recommends a 5 Mbps Internet connection speed to stream video in high definition.

There’s demand for higher broadband speed in India as well. In fact, an Ericsson report said Indian telecom users are ready to spend more if telecoms can improve quality of services of their 3G mobile Internet offerings.

Also read: TRAI charts mobile data speed quality: Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, RCom to feel the heat

On July 24, TRAI announced quality of services standards for mobile data download speed. With this, top telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Aircel will need to specify minimum download speed in their data plans and speed should be available at least 80 percent of usage time.

There are a couple of telecoms are offering true high speed broadband in India. In most broadband plans, there will be speed limits to control your Internet experience.

But there are special cases as well.

A Spectranet brochure says “Welcome to the top 1 percent club”. Spectranet broadband – powered by Fox – offers internet download speed of 16Mbps and upload speed of 2 Mbps in select parts of India. 16GB connection will cost you around Rs 4,399 + taxes for a six months plan. The company promises at least 2 Mbps speed.

TRAI needs to learn from FCC.

Broadband speed

The FCC’s annual reviews have found that a notable portion of the U.S. population, particularly in rural areas, lacks access to high-speed Internet.

In 2012, the FCC found that 19 million, or 6 percent, of Americans lacked access to fixed broadband service. In rural areas, the FCC found one-fourth of the population without access to such high-speed Internet.

If FCC recommends higher speed as the benchmark, it will put pressure on Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Verizon Communications, Comcast and AT&T.

The agency will now collect comments on a potential change of broadband definition for 45 days as it prepares a new Broadband Progress Report.

TRAI needs to enhance fixed line broadband speed. This will improve QoS broadband and telecoms can make more money.

Can we get at least 2 Mbps speed without disturbance? Can Indian telecoms refund their customers if they are unable to offer seamless connectivity? If telecoms broadband network is down, can customers claim a reduction in their monthly fee?

Indian broadband growth story

TRAI statistics suggests that poor speed does not impact broadband growth in India. The number of broadband Internet subscribers increased from 55.2 million in December 2013 to 60.87 million in March 2014 with quarterly growth of 10.28 percent.

Total number of Internet subscribers has increased from 238.71 million in December 2013 to 251.59 million in March 2014 with quarterly growth of 5.4 percent. Out of which Wired Internet subscribers are 18.50 million and Wireless Internet subscribers are 233.09 million.

Baburajan K
[email protected]