Average Indian getting 9.14 MB per second Internet speeds, not fastest but capable: Ookla COO

“India ranks 112 in nations and is not in the top hundred. That said, the average Indian consumer is receiving 9.14 MB per second. It is still a speed that can be used to stream video and do a wide range of internet activities. While it is not the fastest, it is capable,” he pointed out. However the Ookla COO also adds that India is a particularly difficult market. “From an infrastructure standpoint, India is a challenging market to operate in.”

He said it is hard to define what really counts as 4G speed. “Yes, it is true that 4G technology is capable in certain parts of the world with latest equipment and latest phones are capable of achieving 1GBps download speeds. The limitation is not in the technology, but the amount of customers using a particular cell tower,” he argued. India with its large population density can be a challenging marking for most players when it comes to providing high speeds, he pointed out, adding that 4G internet is really popular in the country, which adds to the problem.

While 4G mobile internet adoption has grown across India since 2017, there has also been some growing confusion over which player has the fastest 4G speeds. Regulator TRAI’s MySpeed app has consistently ranked Reliance Jio on top, while Ookla’s tests have shown Airtel as the leader. According to the Ookla COO, there are different reasons for such varying numbers and he said it has to do with the methodology of collecting data for speed tests. Ookla for instance has a dedicated methodology for measuring internet speeds, be it on iOS, Android, macOS.

“What can explain differences is that there are different ways in which internet speeds are measured. There are some that collecting background data, when the smartphone is not in use, while that is interesting, it is not really very accurate at time. In the real-time speed test, it measures the full connection and is used when the phone active,” he said.

Ookla Chief Operating Officer Jamie Steven said Indian mobile broadband speeds are catching up to global standards, though the situation is still a little in-between.

With regard to TRAI, he pointed out that Ookla has shared their methodology with them and highlights that the regulator has an open paper looking at different approaches to do this. “They have been very interested to know how we do it, and how others do it. I suspect they intend to improve the measure of data speeds and we might see that in the coming months,” he said.

While mobile internet is often the focus of attention when it comes to speed, Ookla’s COO also said that fixed broadband in India actually has quite respectable rankings. “India is currently at 20.2MBps download speeds, which is an increase from 12MBps from a year ago in 2016. That’s a respectable speed. The upload speeds are also close at 15MBps,” he said. India ranks 67 in the list for fixed broadband.

Asked whether 1GBps speeds are a possibility in India, Steven said it is but the challenge lies in the rollout of the technology. “Big part of gigabit speed has a lot to do with fiber optic rollout. With fiber, this is less about speed, but rather the rollout area by area, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. There are not a great many markets in the world where it is so easily possible. A market like South Korea, which has high internet speeds, is due to fiber optic,” he pointed out.

When it comes fixed internet technology, there is a cost and time involved in a rolling out the technology, he added.

And what about 5G? According to Steven, the key with 5G is not the speeds, but the efficiency. He thinks 5G could be very useful in a market like India, given the population density. “One thing I find interesting about 5G, one major improvement that it should bring is the ability for more users to make use of a cell site or cellular station. It is suited to dense markets, 5G is more efficient, so it can deliver service to more customers in a more efficient way,” he said.