Does Minimum 2 Mbps Speed Rule for Broadband Make a Difference in 2023

Reported by Tanay Singh Thakur February 27th, 2023 at 08:22 pm

People in rural areas of India don't have access to high-speed broadband connectivity. This is because the telcos don't want to invest much in the infrastructure and network in such areas because of low ROI (return on investment) potential. While it makes sense, it also deprives the people in rural India of access to high-speed broadband.

Highlights

The minimum speed for broadband in India was increased from 512 Kbps to 2 Mbps earlier this month.
The big question is, does it make a difference in 2023?
It is a valid question because India is now witnessing a large-scale 5G rollout from Jio and Airtel.

The minimum speed for broadband in India was increased from 512 Kbps to 2 Mbps earlier this month. The big question is, does it make a difference in 2023? It is a valid question because India is now witnessing a large-scale 5G rollout from Jio and Airtel. With 5G, the speeds are, of course, more than 2 Mbps easily. But this is not a thing about 4G or 5G. Frankly, the minimum broadband speed upgradation won't affect the users living in urban cities. They anyway get more than 2 Mbps speed with their 4G and 5G connections.

But the major effect of this rule would be in the rural areas. So now, the telcos and the internet service providers (ISPs) who are expanding into the rural areas of the country would have to ensure that the speed delivered to consumers is at least 2 Mbps or more. It is a good thing because until now, that speed limit was 512 Kbps, which, to be honest, wouldn't support the most basic applications of the internet. However, with 2 Mbps of speed, users can at least stream videos and download data easily.

People in rural areas of India don't have access to high-speed broadband connectivity. This is because the telcos don't want to invest much in the infrastructure and network in such areas because of low ROI (return on investment) potential. While it makes sense, it also deprives the people in rural India of access to high-speed broadband. But that should change now as the telcos would have to ensure that the internet speed they deliver to the consumers in any part of the nation is at least 2 Mbps or more.

In the coming years, we are going to see larger investments by the private telcos as well as the state-run telco in rural India. Bharti Airtel has already identified 60000 potential villages where it wants to expand into. These are the villages that can make the telco revenue in the future.

So to answer the question of whether the speed upgrade rule to 2 Mbps would make a difference in 2023, well, it would! People in rural India would finally have access to decent broadband speeds.