In January, the definition of broadband was up to date to 2Mbps, quadrupling the bandwidth vital to qualify for the tag. Image for representational function solely.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Broadband statistics in India seem to not be reflecting the change within the definition of the service.
In January, the definition of broadband was up to date to 2Mbps, quadrupling the bandwidth vital to qualify for the tag. In India, ‘broadband’ is outlined not simply as fastened line connections, but in addition wi-fi connections that supply quick web speeds.
As The Hindu had reported in February, the re-definition of broadband was important in gentle of “grey spots” within the nation, that are rural areas or crowded cities the place cellular operators haven’t constructed sufficient infrastructure to serve the demand of the native inhabitants with out working into points like congestion, with customers reporting obtain speeds decrease than the newly mandated 2Mbps.
However, the Telecom Subscription Report, printed on the finish of every month retrospectively, doesn’t seem to be reflecting the modified definition of broadband in any respect. The report for January thirty first, 2023, printed on the finish of March, counts 806.07 million wi-fi broadband customers, supposedly indicating that these subscribers have entry to not less than 2Mbps in bandwidth.
In the report for the earlier month, earlier than the re-definition, the quantity was 799.82 million, that means the variety of broadband customers has truly elevated within the wake of the change in definition.
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TRAI and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) didn’t reply to a questionnaire on whether or not the methodology to replace broadband customers was modified to reflect the brand new definition of broadband.
The COAI, which represents Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, stated in a regulatory submitting in 2018 on the re-definition that this must be finished on the premise of “average” obtain velocity, and never be set as an absolute minimal in all circumstances.
The business group had stated in 2020 that “We believe that any changes to the existing broadband definition should be based on the type of services being accessed by the consumers, comparable with global norms, ensure optimal utilization of existing infrastructure and have priority towards availability and affordability.”
