After the government imposed the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, Indians were impelled to work from home and, consequently, consumed more internet bandwidth. And just like other countries, the internet speeds also dropped in India. While fixed broadband mean download speed in India declined from 39.65 Mbps in February to 35.98Mbps in March, the mean mobile download speed dropped by 1.68 Mbps during the same time period, according to Ookla's latest Speedtest Global Index.
As of March, India is at 130th spot in mobile data speed, which is two spots down from February 2020. India also dropped two places in fixed broadband and is now ranked 71st globally. The mean fixed broadband speed in India has been on a downward spiral since January 2020 – from 41.48 Mbps in January to 35.98 Mbps in March, a drop of 5.5 Mbps. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) grabs the first position for mobile broadband speed with a mean download speed of 83.52 Mbps. Singapore still holds the top spot for fixed broadband speed with a mean download of 197.26 Mbps.
‘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 a slowdown. 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,’ Doug Suttles, CEO of Ookla, said in a statement.
