Lockdown stress pulls India's broadband speed rank to 71 globally

As the networks are under strain during the lockdown, India slipped two positions in terms of fixed broadband speed to 71st rank in March, according to Ookla's March Speedtest Global Index.

In terms of mobile broadband also, India fell two rands to 2 spots to 130th compared to February 2020.

The report said that the mean fixed broadband speed in India has been declining since the beginning of 2020, from 41.48 Mbps in January to 35.98 Mbps in March, a drop by 5.5 Mbps. Similarly, mean download speeds on fixed broadband have decreased from 39.65 Mbps in February to 35.98 Mbps in March.

Further, there was a slight dip in mean mobile download speed, from 11.83 Mbps in February to 10.15 Mbps in March 2020.

"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.

"It is important to note that while the internet itself should handle elevated usage, there may be impacts to speed as people continue to move their daily activities increasingly online. While the core of the internet remains stable, some ISP networks may struggle to keep up," Suttles said.

According to the Ookla's March Speedtest Global Index, UAE is in first position for mobile broadband speed with a mean download of 83.52 Mbps and Singapore holds the top spot for fixed broadband speed with a mean download of 197.26 Mbps.

Ookla's Speedtest Global Index compares internet speed data at the country level from around the world each month.

It said that it is is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of internet networks across the globe.