Lok Sabha Question No. 3666 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: 4G Speed
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: HARI BABU KAMBHAMPATI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3666 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH   AUGUST, 2018

## 4G SPEED

3666. DR. KAMBHAMPATI HARIBABU:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the 4G speed in India is lower than the global average and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to improve the 4G speed;
- (b) the details of range of spectrum allocated for the 4G LTE services, along with the range that could be made available to increase the speed; and
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to encourage faster adoption of advanced technologies by the telecom companies in providing 4G services?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) analytics portal, the Telecom Service Provider-wise average download speed on 4G Technology in the country for the month of June 2018 is as per Annexure. This TRAI result is based on the data speed samples collected on a crowd sourcing basis during speed test initiated by users over the last four months. No authentic information is available to the Government on the average 4G speeds in other countries.
- (b) As per the Government policy, spectrum has been made Technology neutral i.e. any technology could be deployed in any band within the prescribed guidelines.
- (c) In  order  to  facilitate  improvement  in  Quality  of  Services  and  expansion  of telecommunication services including 4G-services, the Department of Telecommunications has initiated a series of policy initiatives and development programs as below :-
- (i) making available sufficient spectrum for mobile services including auction of 965  MHz  across  different  bands  (700,  800,  900,  1800,  2100,  2300  and 2500 MHz bands) in 2016.
- (ii) allowing  Spectrum  Sharing,  Trading  and  liberalisation  of  administratively allocated spectrum as per guidelines.

- (iii) permitting sharing of active as well as passive infrastructure by the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for achieving higher utilisation efficiency.
- (iv) permitting  Internet  Protocol  (IP)  based  interconnections  between  TSPs  in addition to the prevailing arrangements.
- (v) notification  of  Indian  Telegraph  Right  of  Way  Rules,  2016  in  November 2016  for  regulating  underground  infrastructure  (optical  fibre)  and  overground infrastructure (mobile towers).
- (vi) periodic review of expansion of mobile networks and related improvements carried out by TSPs.

Network  upgradation  and  improvement  is  an  ongoing  process  for  each  TSP, based on changing traffic volumes, customer needs and market competition.

## ANNEXURE

TELECOM SERVICE PROVIDER -WISE AVERAGE DOWNLOAD SPEED ON 4G TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE'2018

| Name of 4G Telecom Service Provider   |   Average Download 4G Speed (in Mbps) |
|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| M/s. Reliance Jio                     |                                  18.6 |
| M/s. Airtel                           |                                   9.2 |
| M/s. Vodafone                         |                                   7.2 |
| M/s. Idea                             |                                   6.8 |

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