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Inform users of minimum download speed, says TRAI

Inform users of minimum download speed, says TRAI

Inform users of minimum download speed, says TRAI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI has asked telecom operators to tell mobile phone users about the minimum download speed that is available on Edge 2G or 3G networks. According to a directive by TRAI the minimum download speed has to be specified for each wireless data plan that is available to users.nbsp;

quot;Every service provider shall in all its wireless data plans indicate the minimum download speed available to consumersquot; TRAI stated . quot;Every service provider shall ensure that the minimum download speed is available to consumers for not less than eighty percent of the usage time.quot;

TRAI added that telecom operators would be responsible for communicating the information regarding the minimum download speed of wireless data plans to consumers. To make sure that consumers have all the relevant information the operators will have to specify minimum download speed on the voucher of a wireless data package and on their websites.

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For now however TRAI has not specified any specific number as the minimum download speed for wireless plans. For wired internet at least 512kbps of minimum download speed is required for a broadband connection in India. TRAI clarified that it wanted to specify the minimum download speed for wireless plans but apparently telecom operators in India were not ready for it.

quot;The service provider and their associations have opposed the proposal to prescribe the benchmarks for minimum download speed. considering the view of stakeholders the authority has decided that the benchmark for the minimum download speed for various technologies may not be prescribedquot; said TRAI .

At the same time the regulatory body said that telecom operators have to come up with the minimum download speed for their data plans communicate it to mobile phone users as well as send the information to TRAI along with the tariff filing.

While for consumers it would have been better if TRAI had also specified a minimum download speed for wireless data plans the new directive was a step in the right direction. Currently there is no guarantee of decent service for wireless data users. While in some places people using 3G connections get speed of up to 5mbps if they are travelling the phone often struggles to even maintain the data link.

Similarly there are plans where consumers are not told about the any minimum download speed. For example Airtel has an quot;unlimitedquot; 3G plan where prepaid customers can pay Rs 755 and get 4GB data for 28 days. Once a user has consumed 4GB the wireless data continues to work but at a quot;reduced speedquot;. Airtel doesn’t specify the quot;reduced speedquot;.

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