TRAI to redefine "broadband"

R

rishia

Adept
Trai to redefine `broadband`

Trai to redefine `broadband`
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BS Reporter / New Delhi January 02, 2008
Tells operators to modify ads on speeds they offer.
For subscribers who wonder why their high-speed “broadband†connection of 256 kilo bites per second (kbps) is not fast enough to play video games or download movie clips quickly, here is some good news.
Responding to complaints from harassed consumers who are offered “broadband†at speeds much slower than those stipulated by the government, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has taken a tough call.
It has written to operators saying they can no longer advertise broadband services that say they offer “up to†256 kbps speeds, thereby circumventing the rules by offering services at far lower speeds.
Instead, Trai has directed all operators to clearly mention the minimum guaranteed download speeds in various packages. The regulator said operators have promised to abide by the new direction.
Meanwhile, the regulator has also mooted a discussion paper, which was released today, on whether the present level of 256 kbps defined as the minimum speed for a broadband connection should be raised to bring it on a par with international standards.
The paper said in countries like France and Singapore, broadband is defined as a minimum speed of 512 kbps.
In the US, however, the speed is limited to 200 kbps, in Hungary to 256 kbps, while in China all internet users other than dial-up and wireless are considered broadband users.
For consumers, a rise in the speed definition for broadband means two things. On the positive side it means many services like high definition movies, tele-medicine and video streaming would all be possible since these services require speeds as high as 4 to 6 mbps.
But on the flip side it will mean that consumers, at least for the time being, have to shell out much more for higher speeds.
A 256 kbps broadband connection is currently available at Rs 250 a month. A connection of 2 mbps would make you poorer by Rs 3,300 a month.
At the moment only 4 per cent of the nine million broadband users in the country use speeds of above 256 kbps.
But many experts said the impending entry of wireless technologies like 3G and Wimax and the spread of optical fibre across the country could swiftly increase broadband penetration and therefore lead to a dramatic fall in prices.
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A good move. This will help in some way. For me, the important thing is the data transfer limits. I think thats the main issue for most regular users. Wish we could put some pressure on the ISPs on this front.
 
A 256 connection for Rs 250 is highly misleading. That may describe some plan available but in the context of that article it is inaccurate as a reflection of the cost of 256kpbs, the plan mentioned is bound to be with extremely limited usability. Most of us pay around Rs 1000 plus for 256k connections. Thats a more accurate reflection of cost of 256kpbs in India I think.
 
They should make all connection unlimited. No data limit atleast as its very very pitiful to have data limit on broadband connection.
 
^ Yes, I too believe plans should be simplified, but having all unlimited plans might not be such a good idea for all the users, having a choice is definitely good, isn't it?

There should be just 2 types of plans

1. Plans whose cost would depend on the speed but not the amount of data (The unlimited plans)

2. Plans that depend on amount of data transfer and not the speed (ie. the speed should be maximum available, but data transfer amount should be fixed at a certain amount / MB).
 
Well, TRAI is doing it again. So they'll call 512kbps the new norm and we'll soon see all the ISPs gladly complying and providing PROPER 512kbps schemes with some senseless 500MB download limit, Hurray?

They should get rid of the download limits and provide 256kbps/512kbps/1Mbps 24/7 unlimited plans for Rs. 500/1000/1500.

I love how every ISP started giving 2Mbps lines as soon as BSNL/MTNL started the whole Year of Broadband thingie, but still no PURE 2Mbps unlimited a year later. Oh wait....there is one! It's by MTNL - Rs. 20,000 / month. But hey, if you don't want unlimited you can always take the plan with the 70GB limit.. should be cheaper. No wait, it's even costlier than unlimited! Rs. 42,999 a month!
 
This was supposed to be done when they made the decision to consider only any speed above 256 kbps as "broadband" in the first place. TRAI is making many steps but they arent upholding it.
 
A stable up to 2mbps (with minimum 512kbps) and at least 512kbps upload speed with unlimited usage within Rs 1,000. Only that can be called an entry level broadband by international standards :lick:
Cell phone rates are so cheap in India, why can't the same thing happens to broadband :p
 
checksum said:
Now the wait to see how fast its actually implemented by all the ISPs
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Exactly ;)

tho do expect to get 512kbs UL @Rs.1k by the years end.

No sources to back that up just a feeling :)
 
most countries have download limits.. so i dont think thats ever going to change...maximum we can expect is something sensible like 30-40gb limit@1mbps or something..for a reasonable amount
 
indrajeet1811 said:
nah...india's broadband population is miniscule compared to other countries like japan and US
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So that means margins for growth are higher here... there is no saturation yet of now... private ISPs go for kill... compete hard... prepare good packages... undo each other in service quality... fight for customers!

I know it's a wishlist. Nothin' tha' sort o' gonna happen :(
 
Consider how many homes have reliable electric power before asking how many actually have PCs to make use of this broadband and then we get a truer picture of how big the domestic (as opposed to corporate) internet market is. Do you see that segment rising, maybe but not by very much annually.

Most ppl just surf at work or school. It's only the more internet hooked that have it at home.
 
morgoth said:
A stable up to 2mbps (with minimum 512kbps) and at least 512kbps upload speed with unlimited usage within Rs 1,000. Only that can be called an entry level broadband by international standards :lick:
Cell phone rates are so cheap in India, why can't the same thing happens to broadband :p
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quite simple. cell phones are so cheap that even auto-rickshaw drivers own one nowadays. therefore, the providers can offer cheap plans and still make a lot of money due to the sheer population in our country. unlike a cell phone, a computer still hasn't become a 'necessity' yet. if there were as many internet users as cell phone users, the ISPs would probably offer much cheaper plans.

it really is a trade-off. while all of us whine about our shitty internet bills, our cell phone bills are NOTHING compared to the average prices you'd see in a country like USA or Canada. i lived in Canada for a year and it was ridiculous there. you have to pay for every single thing including text messages and incoming calls. also, getting a phone itself was mostly a cumbersome process where you'd have the company checking your credit and stuff. you could get a prepaid option where they wouldn't check your credit but if i recall correctly, that cost a little more than the already expensive post paid plans. INTERNET however, was pretty cheap. ~$40 (about Rs.1600) for an 8mbit line with an 80gb limit or even unlimited depending on where you lived. go figure.
 
Phones are marketed individually here as opposed to the US/Canada where they are usually bundled with the plans hence the credit checks and expensive plans to recoup the cost of the phones. On average my phone bill is around Rs 1200-1500 or $30-45 PM, Official blackberry is paid for by the company but that's much more. I don't know whether this is cheap by US standards. I don't think so.

You could have users using pre paid, which are more expensive by the way or running up lower bills depending on usage patterns. On the whole yes we have decent mobile tariffs but I don't think its dirt cheap or the cheapest in the world as mobile operators and some people presume.
 
Cellphones are not the appropriate analogy to use here for one, bandwidth for voice is very cheap in comparison to internet.
 
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