Lok Sabha Question No. 5408 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: 4G Speed
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: KIRIT SOMAIYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5408

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 th      MARCH, 2018

## 4G SPEED

## 5408. DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the fact that average 4G speed in the country is among the slowest in world and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (b) the average 4G speed in other countries, country-wise;
- (c) the  measures  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  average  4G  speed across the country; and
- (d) the time by which it is likely to be done?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) My Speed portal, the Telecom Service  Provider-wise  average  download  speed  on  4G  Network  in  the  country  for  the  month  of February 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,

- (c) & (d) 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:
- (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  over-ground  infrastructure (mobile towers).
- (vi)  periodic review of expansion of mobile networks and related improvements carried out by TSPs.

About 5.15 lakh 4G-BTS have been installed in the country during the period July 2016 to February 2018, leading to a total installed base of around 7.52 lakh 4G-BTS in the country.

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

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## ANNEXURE

| Name of 4G Telecom Service Provider   |   M/s. Reliance Jio |   M/s. Airtel |   M/s. Vodafone |   M/s. Idea |
|---------------------------------------|---------------------|---------------|-----------------|-------------|
| Average Download 4G Speed(in Mbps)    |                21.3 |           8.8 |             7.2 |         6.8 |

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