India’s 4G download speed is marginally above the global 3G speed

Even though there is quite an uproar in the Indian telecom industry about 4G and high-speed broadband in India, with telcos accusing each other of falsely advertising their speeds to attract customers, the truth is quite shocking for an average Indian internet user.

The average download speed in India, which is 5.1Mbps, is less than even one-third of the global average speed of 16.2 Mbps, being only marginally higher than the global 3G speed of 4.4 Mbps.

Not only this, the average 3G download speeds across the country are less than 1 Mbps, which at times goes down to as low as 10 Kbps.

The data have been suggested in a report by OpenSignal, a London-headquartered company that specialises in wireless coverage mapping.

The report adds that last six months have seen download speeds in India going down by more than one megabit per second because of a surge in traffic, primarily because of Jio’s free internet offers after its commercial launch in September last year.

These offers prompted incumber telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular to slash prices and offer freebies, which led to even more users demanding data services.

The average internet speed in India has been ranked at the 74th place, below the likes of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, being marginally ahead of Costa Rica.

In terms of 4G speed, Singapore has stood first, while in terms of 4G availability, South Korea bagged the top rank.

(Image source YouTube)