Broadband definition needs revision, should be upgraded to 2 mbps: BIF to TRAI

In its response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) consultation paper on 'Roadmap to Promote Broadband Connectivity and Enhanced Broadband Speed' said that connectivity speed of more than 2Mbps standard is a mainstream requirement in the  market for internet access.

It noted that the National Telecom Policy of 2012 called for the redefinition of broadband "to 2 mbps by 2015 and higher speeds of at least 100 mbps thereafter". The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also defines broadband as "transmission capacity  that is faster than primary rate Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) at 1.5 or 2.0 Megabits per second"

"We therefore recommend that a network must comply with the requirement to provide 2 mbps download and upload speeds to be considered a broadband connection, regardless of the medium or technology used to deliver the service," BIF said.

The industry body also recommended the creation of additional tiers that represent increasing levels of quality and enhance transparency in the provision of services, but remain entirely optional for service providers to guarantee.

It said that the current practice of defining broadband based on the capability of the underlying medium must be abandoned in favour of the approach to limit the definition to the speed delivered to the end consumer.

As a defining characteristic, the connection speed is sufficient for consumers to make an informed decision, it told TRAI.

The proposed definition of as BIF reads: "Broadband is an always-on data connection, provided over fixed or wireless infrastructure, that is able to support multiple information and interactive services such as Interest access and on demand video, and offers  a minimum downlink and uplink speed of 2 mbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide the Broadband service."