Internet connections get 20 times faster

Your wireless internet connection has just got faster, with CDMA operators launching services that offer speeds of up to 3.1 mbps.

On a comparative basis, this is faster by over 20 times than the existing wireless broadband connections, and 10 times faster than average broadband connections in the country.

At present, broadband is defined as always-on connectivity with 256 kbps speed on Ethernet connections (wired), while the maximum speed available over wireless is around 144 kbps.

However, the upload and download speeds do not match the advertised speeds, which can be misleading for users. Users in India, for instance, only get around 30-40 kbps connectivity on a 256 mbps connection and a meagre 9-10 kbps on a 144 kbps connection during peak times, according to Internet Service Providers Association of India President Rajesh Chharia.

Tata Teleservices has launched Photon+, a plug and play device that offers data speeds of up to 3.1 mbps. It claims that this is 20 times faster than existing wireless mobile technologies. It has also unveiled another product -- Power Launcher -- an Ethernet-based broadband product that offers speeds up to 100 mbps.

"There is an explosion of internet usage in the country, with an increase in usage of bandwidth... the number of individual internet users far exceeded that of corporate users and the launch of these services will enable faster and trouble-free internet access," Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd Managing Director Mukund Govind Rajan said.

According to the recent Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data, the total number of internet connections in the country stand at around 13 million, of which broadband connections are 5.65 million.

Another CDMA player, Reliance Communications has also rolled out a high-speed broadband service, Reliance Netconnect Broadband Plus. This has a downlink speed of up to 3.1 mbps and a separate uplink speed of up to 1.8 mbps, which the company claims is much higher than any other offering in the country.

"This is the inflection point for the Indian internet industry and would enable broadband access to millions of online Indians," RCom President Mahesh Prasad said, attributing the poor penetration to the limitations of wireline internet like last mile connectivity and time taken for network deployment.

But are these tall claims? According to Chharia, "Their claims are right as 3.1 Mbps connections can be offered. However, will these companies provide both access and international bandwidth at these speeds? If both access and bandwidth are provided at these speeds, it's a great leap for the industry."

The Cellular Operators' Association of India is not amused. The body of GSM operators has sought the department of telecommunications's intervention to stop these services, which it claims are 3G EVDO services. It is 'legally untenable' to permit select players to get a preferential headstart to offer 3G services, it wrote in a letter to the DoT.

"Controversies are a part of this industry. However, in the end, the services are beneficial to the customers," said Rajan.