NEW DELHI: Late last year, a report highlighted how the PMO needs to have better Internet connectivity and not an average of 34Mbps. Now, talking about the overall Internet speed in India, PM Modi himself has stepped in to know the reason for the slow speed, according to a report by The Hindustan Times.
Slow broadband speeds could prove to be a big hurdle in PM Modi’s Digital India dream. The delivery of broadband speeds in India has been really slow, and in most cases it’s just half of what is promised by operators. However, operators claim they’ve been offering more than the quality parameters prescribed by TRAI, says the report.
Some sources from the Communications Ministry have told the news site that in a recent meeting with secretaries of various ministries, Modi took stock of the situation. In fact, PM Modi is reportedly scheduled to meet telecom secretary Rakesh Garg to discuss the matter.
“Operators offer whatever they prescribe, it is market dynamic that anyone not offering it will fall aside in this business,” said Rajan Mathews, director-general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The COAI reprsenets all operators except Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices.
The report also adds that Garg may ask for four weeks time to check all the reasons for slow broadband speeds and submit it to PMO. Though a report has been already submitted, the further analysis is required to know if lack of spectrum has been the cause of slow speed.
According to Akamai’s State of the Internet report for Q2 2014, India is ranked 115th in the world with an average internet speeds of almost 2Mbps. That is the lowest average internet speed in the Asia-Pacific region. In comparison, the South Korean average internet speeds hover around 24.6Mbps.
The average peak connection speeds in India is around 14Mbps and only a tiny 1.2 per cent of the total internet users across the country gets more than 10Mbps internet speeds.
The PMO working on speedy internet speeds is a step in the right direction. Back in August, the state-run telecom operator BSNL announced the ambitious Digital India campaign, which aims to ensure national optic fibre network (NOFN) providing Wi-fi hotspots at commercial places, mobile wallet services and delivering m-governance services. NOFN aims to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to 2.50 lakh gram panchayats in India by March 2017.
