Demand for connectivity has grown over the last few months. Even when looked at the last five years, more and more businesses have shifted to an online platform. For entertainment, people now depend on streaming services more than anything else. The thing is, this is just the start. In the coming few years, a majority of the world’s population will seek to rely on internet connectivity to execute their daily tasks and more. While 4G and 5G will be there for people to stay connected, no one can deny the importance of broadband internet. Broadband internet is not only fast; it is more reliable as well. This is because there are fewer chances of network congestion, and you can actually control the kind of downloading and uploading speed that you get.
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Broadband Internet, What Should be the Minimum Speed?
With time, it is normal to expect that broadband internet standards will rise. But where will it exactly reach? Broadband India Forum (BIF) recently responded to consultation papers floated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) saying that the definition of broadband internet must be updated.
While people have become accustomed to 4G internet speeds in the country, 512 Kbps internet speed is still suggested as the appropriate minimum internet speed for a broadband connection. BIF has said that this definition must be updated and the minimum broadband speed must be 2 Mbps for an internet service for qualifying as broadband service.
At the same time, Bharti Airtel believes that the definition doesn’t need to be interfered with right now. As per a statement from Airtel, 512 Kbps internet is more than sufficient to do most of the things any average user would want to.
Tons of private broadband service providers have sprung up in the last two to three years. Demand for fibre internet connection has grown to an all-time high. But is the pricing of broadband internet at the right place at the moment?
To get a perspective, let’s look at the 100 Mbps fibre plans offered by various internet service providers (ISPs). BSNL Bharat Fiber offers its base 100 Mbps broadband plan with unlimited data (3.3TB) for Rs 799, which is the same case for Airtel Xstream Fiber as well. JioFiber offers the same 100 Mbps plan with unlimited data for Rs 699 per month, which is only Rs 100 lesser than the previous two.
On average, the 100 Mbps broadband plan falls between Rs 700 and Rs 800 right now. Is this a correct price range? We are taking the 100 Mbps speed plan for analysis because it is the perfect one for a household with multiple people relying on a single Wi-Fi network for internet.
So What’s the Future for Broadband Internet in India?
With minimum speed for a broadband internet connection up for debate, do the internet service providers also have to pay attention to the price they are offering the plans at? One thing is for sure; the ISPs are not going to reduce the pricing of the plans! But can they bump up the benefits that are offered by their base or entry-level plans? What do you guys think? Should the minimum speed be increased for a broadband internet connection? Adding to this, should the benefits be increased with the broadband plans?
One more thing to consider is OTT (over the top) benefits offered by the service providers. While Airtel and Jio offer OTT benefits with their plans, hasn’t it become too obvious for BSNL to offer more OTT benefits with its broadband plans? Leave your thoughts on the comments section below!
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