Demand for broadband internet in India has grown in the last few months. The broadband technology has developed very rapidly, and now people can access up to 1 Gbps internet speed sitting in their homes and offices. Much recently, the Broadband Forum of India (BIF) said in response to a consultation paper released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that the definition of broadband internet in India needs to be updated. BIF noted that at present, the minimum threshold for a service to qualify as broadband service is providing 512 Kbps internet speed which should be updated and increased. More details on the story ahead.
BIF Says Minimum Internet Speed Should be 2 Mbps for a Broadband Service
As per a report from News18, BIF has said that the definition of broadband internet service needs to be updated now. From the current minimum speed of 512 Kbps, the minimum speed should be increased to 2 Mbps for both downloading and uploading.
Adding to this, BIF has suggested dividing the broadband services into three different categories, namely ‘Basic’, ‘Fast’, and ‘Ultra-Fast’. This division would help the broadband companies in matching up to a certain standard and quality of service when they list their plans or services in any of these categories.
It is worth noting that since the last time broadband internet was defined, internet in India has evolved to a much better standard. A large population in the country is now used to getting 4G internet speeds which is much higher than what broadband internet used to offer five years ago. With 5G around the corner, it is high time that a proper new definition for broadband internet and services is also given.
Trai had earlier floated several consultation papers to various telecom and internet service providers (ISPs) in the country in which the main concern mentioned was the minimum speed offered to the users. Defining a better minimum speed is something that actually needs to be done since 512 Kbps is not enough and viable for today’s connectivity standards.
