While mobile speeds increased modestly, fixed broadband speeds increased dramatically since January 2017.

India, is witnessing a fervent demand for high-speed broadband, owing to government’s vision to create a digitally advanced market through initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’.

By 2020, internet penetration is the country is set to reach over 600 million users.

According to data from Ookla’s November Speedtest Global Index, India is ranked 109th in the mobile internet speed and 76th for fixed broadband speed, globally.

At the start of 2017, the average mobile download speed in India was 7.65 Mbps. Heading into the end of the year, average mobile download speed is 8.80 Mbps as of November, which states there is a 15% increase. While mobile speeds increased modestly, fixed broadband speeds increased dramatically. Average fixed broadband download speed in January was 12.12 Mbps. As of November, it’s at 18.82 Mbps, a close to 50% jump. 

Commenting on the same, Mr. Bala Malladi, CEO, Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd said, “The wired broadband speeds have been increasing in India and we have moved up rankings over last 2 years. With increasing consumption of video content and streaming, multiple devices being connected at homes, and governments making this a focus segment, the wired broadband speeds will continue to rise and India will see improvement in rankings in the coming years.”

On the other hand referring to the the Speedtest Global Index, Mr Doug Suttles, Co-Founder and General Manager at Ookla said “Both mobile and fixed broadband internet in India are getting faster, that’s good news for all Indian consumers no matter which operator or plan they use to access the internet. India still has a long way to go to catch up with countries that have top speeds around the world, however, we are highly optimistic about the capacity for growth that is available in the Indian market and look forward to watching how the market grows in this coming new year.”

As of November, Norway ranks first in the world for mobile internet with an average download speed of 62.66 Mbps. Singapore takes the top spot for fixed broadband with a 153.85 Mbps average download.

The internet is the vehicle that most of us use to connect with the world every day. As internet speeds improve in India and consumers take advantage of the opportunities these speeds present, it only stands to reason that increased demand will lead to innovation across mediums that also open up new ways to create and connect with each other.

Another key element in growth is competition. When operators compete to provide the fastest speeds and the best plans for consumers, they incentivize each other to offer progressively better options. 

Johnny Li, VP of Cheetah Mobile, APAC and Global Performance Business said, “According to multiple reports, India is one of the world’s fastest growing countries in terms of mobile internet users. In fact, India tops U.S. in terms of total time spent on Android phones between 2014 – 2016 (Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report 2017) Naturally, I am optimistic about the future of mobile internet in India. According to StatCounter, 80% of India’s internet users access the web via their mobile phone (compared to a global average of about 50%). With the current trend of declining mobile data cost, which should encourage more mobile internet consumer uptakes, we should see telco providers invest more in infrastructures to further improve the entire mobile internet ecosystem. As part of this ecosystem, Cheetah Mobile will continue to invest in the future of India’s mobile internet from both a B2B and B2C perspective.”

According to the Ericsson mobility research reports- 

· The total mobile subscriptions in the country as per the report stood at 1.185 billion in Q3 2017

· The total mobile data traffic per month in India is expected to grow 11 times during the forecast period from 1.3 EB to 14 EB by 2023

· The report estimates that the monthly data usage per smartphone (GB/month) in India will increase 5 times from 3.9 GB in 2017 to 18 GB by 2023

 Looking Forward

With 2018 just around the corner, there is a renewed chance to focus on the development of Indian internet. Home to one-sixth of the world’s population, India is a dynamic market with opportunities for both national and regional innovations. Of particular note is the rise of 4G in the country and the continued rollout of new companies and plans that are making 4G accessible to consumers.