Ookla’s Speed-test Global Index and India’s September Rank
Fahid Fayaz Darangay
India has registered a two-place drop to 131 on the Ookla’s Speed-test Global Index for mobile broadband speeds in April. The average mobile broadband download speed in the country was 12.07 Mbps during September while the average upload speed was registered to be 3.98Mbps for the same period.
The drop in the mobile Internet speeds could be attributed to the massive surge in Internet usage in India due to the coronavirus lockdown. The latest ranking released by the global Internet speed Tracker Company shows India slipping even below Iraq among the neighbouring countries. India already ranks below Pakistan and Nepal in terms of mobile broadband speeds.
Neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal rank higher than India in the global in the index. While Sri Lanka ranks 102nd with a speed of 19.95Mbps, Pakistan is at 116th spot with 17.13 Mbps. Nepal occupies 117th spot with a speed of 17.12Mbps.
As per the Speedtest Global Index, the global average mobile broadband download speeds in September registered at 35.96Mbps while the global average upload speed is at 11.22Mbps. The list is topped by South Korea with an average mobile broadband download speed of 121.00Mbps and upload speed of 18.81 and the last – 138th – position is held by Afghanistan (7.26Mbps). The top ten positions are held by South Korea, China, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Bulgaria and Australia respectively.
How much mobile internet data is consumed on average for an hour is depicted by the following table:
Activity Data Consumption
Google Chrome (2 hours) Upto 150 MB
Watching a movie on low resolution on OTT (1.35 hours) 650 MB
Watching YouTube videos at 360p resolution for 1 hour 280 MB
Watching YouTube videos at 720p resolution for 1 hour 600 MB
Watching Facebook videos for an hour 300 MB
Playing HD games for 1 hour 35 MB
Reasons
First, smart phones have redefined the way we use the internet. As a result, there is a huge spike in data demand. Remember, earlier users were restricted to 1GB of data every day, now this limit has grown manifold. So, who’s bearing the brunt? Of course, the users. We are getting more data to consume, but without the fast speeds. The fact is that telecom operators are not able to meet this high consumer demand. In other words, networks are overloaded, and this, in turn, impacts the speeds.
Second, another important reason is the low price for data. While we want to use unlimited internet on our phone, we don’t want to spend too much money on it. It’s true that cheap data plans are making 4G accessible to a wider demographic, but it’s also leading to crowded towers and network congestion. This, in turn, is resulting in low-quality 4G networks. And the inexpensive pricing models are not leaving operators with enough revenue to maintain and upgrade the required systems.
Third, the telecom sector is in a deep financial mess. Mobile operators, therefore, seem to be slow in making the necessary investments and upgrading infrastructure. So, India’s fibre penetration is extremely low. According to experts, the country has approximately 5 lakh telecom towers, out of which, only around 25 per cent are connected via fibre. The infrastructure in the capital – Delhi – is actually enough to meet only half of the current demand. So, to enjoy faster internet speeds on the phone, a more robust optic fibre network needs to be put in place.
Last but not least, spectrum allocation is believed to be another important reason for poor 4G speeds in India. It’s said that the spectrum per operator in India is low compared to other countries – which means, low spectrum per subscriber. This translates into slow 4G network speeds. Mobile companies here need support from the government, as they are the ones who control the spectrum.
(The author is currently pursuing Masters in Financial Economics from Madras School of Economics, Chennai)
