Coronavirus Effect: Mobile Internet Speeds, Broadband Decline In India

Coronavirus has resulted in a large part of the population working from home. Confined to their homes during the lockdown, the population is also consuming a lot of internet data. Cheap data plans have gotten people using their data and broadband more than ever. However, the internet infrastructure in India has taken a hit as a result.

Internet Speeds Take A Hit

Understandably, the internet has become the core source of entertainment and other important information when travel and social gatherings have been completely curbed. But this has created a drastic effect on the internet speeds in the country. A statistical report by Ookla has further proven this.

Ookla is the company behind the Speedtest Global Index, which compares country-wise internet speed data from around the world each month. The data is gathered from over ten million consumer-initiated tests taken by people trying to decipher the performance and quality of their internet connections.

"When networks are under usage strain, like they are in this unprecedented time of lockdown in India due to COVID-19, it is natural that they experience some level of slowdown," said Doug Suttles, CEO of Ookla.

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To understand this, the data by the company shows that India ranked 130th place in March 2020, two spots lower than February 2020. The stats also show that India dropped two spots on fixed broadband and is now ranks 71st globally in that category.

Who Tops The Charts?

The Ookla March Speedtest Global Index notes that UAE tops the charts for mobile broadband internet speed. UAE scored a mean download of 83.52 Mbps. The data also reveals that Singapore continues to hold the top spot for broadband internet speed with a mean download of 197.26 Mbps.

With the coronavirus lockdown, India's internet speeds have taken a dip in mean mobile download speeds. It went down from 11.83 Mbps in February to 10.15 Mbps in March 2020. It should be noted that the mean fixed broadband speed in India has been declining since the start of 2020. The mean download speeds on fixed broadband have decreased from 39.65 Mbps in February to 35.98 Mbps in March.