Feb 03,2023:The definition of broadband now requires a minimum speed of 2Mbps from telecom operators, after previously requiring a fourth of that bandwidth, 512Kbps, since 2009. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notified the change in a January 25 gazette notification published on Thursday.
“Broadband is a data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 2 Mbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide Broadband service,” the new definition says.
While broadband is generally understood to mean home WiFi connections, government statistics include faster mobile internet connections in the category. Wired broadband and wireless broadband will both be subject to this 2Mbps limit.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had formally recommended the new speed to the DoT in September 2021. By the previous definition, there were 825.38 million broadband users in India in November 2022, according to TRAI data.
