Trai Issues Draft Norms to Ensure 512Kbps Broadband Speed

Telecom regulator Trai Thursday issued draft guidelines for broadband service providers to ensure that they are providing a minimum download speed of 512Kbps to both fixed line and mobile customers.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has come up with the draft guidelines superseding its similar direction issued in 2012 following an amendment in definition of broadband by the government in 2013.

As per the amendment, the broadband service should have "capability of the minimum download speed of 512Kbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide Broadband service".

The draft says that telecom operators should provide on their website and also in all advertisements published through any media data usage limit, speed of connection both upto and beyond limit set in the plan.

As per the proposal, telecom operators should "ensure that download speed of broadband service provided to the fixed broadband subscriber is not reduced below 512Kbps in any broadband tariff plan".

In the draft, Trai has reiterated direction to service providers that they should provide alert to the subscriber when the data usage reaches 80 percent of the data usage limit under his plan.

The regulator has sought views of people on this paper by February 1 and counter views or comments by February 8.