Understanding the Reasons Behind India's Slow Internet Speed and Higher Costs

India maintains a notably different internet landscape compared to developed nations such as Korea and Japan, or even newly emerging fast developing nations. The reasons for these differences lie in several critical factors, including geographical and demographic considerations, substantial infrastructure challenges, and the historical development of telecommunications networks.

Geographical and Demographic Challenges

Size and Population: India’s vast area and large population present significant challenges. Serving the entire nation with high-speed internet infrastructure is a massive undertaking.

India cannot be compared with the relatively compact and densely populated nations such as Korea and Japan. The need to establish a comprehensive network infrastructure that covers vast distances and diverse geographical areas is substantially more complex.

Historical Development of Telecommunications Networks

Mixed Telecom Network Heritage: Unlike developed nations that have long-standing, robust national-level networks, India’s telecom network development has been more fragmented:

Telephony Networks: A significant portion of India's telecommunications began with vast telephone networks. These networks provided a good service, especially in the last decade, when ADSL services became popular. Dialup and ADSL: Dialup services were common in earlier times, and ADSL services offered significant improvement, although they are now reaching their technological limit.

However, laying new high-bandwidth networks from scratch is necessary. This is a challenge in densely populated urban areas and economically unfeasible in vast rural landscapes.

Infrastructure and Taxation

Infrastructure Development: India has a strong internet backbone, with a large portion of international traffic passing through the country. Still, the distribution of this bandwidth to the masses is a significant challenge. Consequently, ISPs have had to collaborate with local cable networks to provide affordable high-speed services.

The collaboration between ISPs and local cable networks, such as Hathway DEN and Tikona, has led to the launch of affordable and high-speed internet plans, benefiting a large number of customers. Despite these efforts, internet service experiences in India are still fragmented and lag behind the best in class.

Cost Compared to Affordability

Affordability Perspective: While internet speeds and costs might seem high by global standards, it is essential to consider the context of India’s average income. From this perspective, broadband connections in India are quite reasonable.

Furthermore, recent initiatives and collaborations between ISPs and cable networks have led to affordable broadband connections. This development indicates that India is on the right path to improving its internet infrastructure and affordability.

Conclusion

India's internet landscape, characterized by slow speeds and higher costs, is the result of historical development patterns, extensive geographical coverage, and demographic challenges. However, ongoing efforts by ISPs and collaborative initiatives are paving the way for a more robust and affordable internet infrastructure for the Indian population.