4G AND BROADBAND - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News: New
broadband definition highlights the plight of India’s barely connected “grey
spots”
What's in the news?
● The
definition of broadband was upgraded last week to mandate a minimum speed of
2Mbps, but telcos rarely prioritize the connectivity of users in small towns
with a few overloaded towers.
Key takeaways:
● The
mobile internet speeds are unusably slow, not even reaching the 512Kbps
previously promised to broadband consumers.
Broadband:
Definition:
● Broadband
is a data connection that is able to
support interactive services
including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 2 Mbps to an individual subscriber from
the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide
Broadband service.
● In
simpler terms, the definition of “broadband”, which 4G networks are typically
classified under in India, has been upgraded from 512 Kbps to a minimum of
2Mbps.
White spots:
● Places
without cellular connectivity at all
are termed as white spots.
Grey spots:
● The
grey spots are the areas which show that simply being “connected” still may not let users get enough out of their access.