Broadband definition needs change, must be upgraded to 2 Mbps: BIF to Trai

Industry think tank BIF has said a revision of broadband definition and speeds in India are long overdue and that it should be reviewed and upgraded to 2 Mbps from current 512 kbps which is “dismally low”.

The Broadband India Forum (BIF) has said communications technology has transformed radically over the past years and entirely new markets for data services have emerged across the nation. Numerous modern internet applications and use cases now require higher speeds than prescribed by the current definition, it said.

“It is our view that since the current definition of broadband captures neither the development of the technology nor the Indian consumers’ appetite for high speed broadband services, it must be reviewed and redefined,” the BIF said in its submission to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).