New Delhi, March 9
High bandwidth prices and an artificial choking of available capacities
are
making quality of Internet services in India among the worst in the world.
According to data collected by Internettrafficre****t.com, India had an
overall index of 74 and a response time of 253 milliseconds.
Countries like the US have an index of 98 and a response time of just 13
milliseconds. Response time is the time taken for a packet of information
to
reach from one point to another. The higher the response time the slower
will be the Internet connection.
Higher index, on the other hand, indicates faster and more reliable
connection. Even developing countries like Mexico and Peru have a higher
Internet index than that of India. Though the numbers put out by
Internettrafficre****t.com is dynamic and changes almost every hour
depending
on the connectivity of each country, similar index comparisons have been
noted over the past few months.
Artificial cap
Mr Rajesh Chharia, President, Internet Service Providers Association of
India (ISPAI), said that though the Internet services being offered by
Indian companies are among the best in the world, the efficiency is
reduced
because the bandwidth providers have an artificial cap on the total
availability.
“Indian bandwidth providers have the infrastructure to offer capacity in
terrabits but they are making available only a few gigabits. This has
resulted in artificial change in the supply and demand equation.”
Mr Chharia also said that international bandwidth operators are also
pricing
capacity at much higher levels than global standards. “An E1 capacity in
India is available for Rs 33,000 per month while the same is available for
just Rs 17,000-20,000 per month in the US and the UK. This forces smaller
ISPs, which cannot afford such higher price, to manage their services with
less capacity even though they may need more bandwidth. The end result
could
be poor customer experience,” he said.
Market watchers pointed out that poor quality could be the reason for a
sluggish growth in Internet and broadband services in the country.
However, bandwidth providers refuted the ISPAI claims and said that there
was more than enough capacity available and more is being added.
“Indian bandwidth operators are only adding capacities and building new
cable systems to cater to the growing telecom market. It is a highly
competitive market and the pricing is determined on free market forces. As
broadband and Internet services grow in India, the prices will only come
down,” said a Mumbai-based international bandwidth provider.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/03/10/stories/2008031050200300.htm
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