Lockdown effect: Mobile broadband speeds dip drastically in March

Team Udayavani, Apr 13, 2020, 9:11 PM IST

New Delhi: Mobile phone users experienced slow internet speed in March when a large part of the workforce in the country was asked to work from home, according to the Trai data.

Mobile devices account for around 97 per cent of broadband connections in the country and are crucial in supporting work from home.

Average mobile broadband speed data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recorded in March showed there has been a dip of up to 22.5 per cent in 4G download speed and around 13 per cent in upload speed on Bharti Airtel’s network.

The download speed on Bharti Airtel network, which provides only 2G and 4G services, dipped to 6.2 megabit per second in March from 8 mbps in February.

The 4G download speed on Idea network declined by 19 per cent to 5.1 mbps from 6.3 mbps in February and Vodafone network registered a 16 per cent dip to 6.7 mbps in March from 8 mbps in February.

The download speed on Reliance Jio Network dropped by about 9 per cent to 19.6 mbps in March compared to 21.5 mbps in February.

The average speed is computed by Trai based on the data it collects across India with the help of its MySpeed application on a real-time basis.

The download speed helps in accessing content from various applications while upload speed helps in sharing of content by the subscribers like email, photo, video etc.

The upload speed on Bharti Airtel network in March declined to 3.2 mbps compared to 3.7 mbps in February.

Despite around 11 per cent dip in upload speed, Vodafone network remained the fastest at 5.8 mbps. Upload speed on Idea network dipped by about 7 per cent to 5.1 mbps in March and on Jio network it declined by about 8 per cent to 3.6 mbps.

State-run BSNL, which provides mainly 3G services, registered a 5 per cent dip in mobile broadband download speed at 1.8 mbps.