Mobile download speeds rise significantly in April, as fixed broadband lags

Mobile internet speeds increased significantly in India in April 2022, as compared to the same period last year. According to monthly data published by Ookla, the company that runs public internet speed testing website, SpeedTest, median internet speeds on mobile phones in India have been rising steadily since June last year, and increased by nearly 6 Mbps this month, as compared to April 2021. 

The data showed that mobile internet speeds in India improved slightly in April as compared to a month ago. At the same time, there was a significant dip in the speed delivered by fixed broadband connections in the country. 

In the global ranking for providing median mobile speed, India jumped two ranks to 118 this month from 120 in March. The median mobile download speed in India increased from 13.67 Mbps in March to 14.19 Mbps in April, according, Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index April report. 

However, India dropped four spots in rank globally for overall median fixed broadband speed, from 72nd to 76th in April. Overall fixed median download speed for broadband services in India saw a slight decrease from 48.15 Mbps in March to 48.09 Mbps in April. 

That said, download speeds on both mobile and broadband services increased significantly, year-on-year (YoY), according to Ookla’s data. The company pegged media download speeds on fixed broadband and mobile at 38.38 Mbps and 8.35 Mbps, respectively, in April 2021.  

Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index ranks mobile and fixed broadband speeds from around the world on a monthly basis. 

April’s Speedtest Global Index ranks the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the top in delivering the best median mobile internet speed. In the median fixed broadband speed department, Singapore was at the top globally. Users in UAE got a median mobile internet speed of 134.48 Mbps, while users in Singapore had the highest median fixed broadband internet speeds at 207.61 Mbps. 

Ukraine and Papua New Guinea registered the highest increase in rank on the Speedtest Global Index for median mobile and fixed broadband performance respectively, in the month of April. 

Internet speeds in India, especially on mobile, are set to increase in the next one year though. In November 2021, the Department of Telecom (DoT) gave telcos till April 2022 to conduct trials of their 5G networks in the country. Spectrum auctions for the 5G networks are expected later this year, and the DoT is said to be PTI reported yesterday that the auction proposal is set to move to the Union Cabinet for final approval this week.