India ranks 131 in mobile data speeds; fall behind Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Mobile users in our country are using a lot of data these days, thanks to cheap unlimited data plans. In the world, India has the most affordable mobile internet plans. Indians get 2GB of 4G data per day by spending less than $5 a month. If one decides to pay just $1 more monthly, they can even get 3GB data per day.

In the digital journey of India, super affordable mobile internet is one of the main highlights. While you do not use 2GB or 3GB mobile internet data every day, there is no denying that you need to get connected to a consistent Wi-Fi connection if you want to play games or watch movies. The reason is there might be sufficient mobile data but limited speed.

India ranks 131 in mobile data speeds; Fall behind Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Ookla's Speedtest Global Index also highlights that more data is not corresponding to a better speed. According to September 2020, India ranks 131 out of 138 in the global mobile internet speed rankings. The global average download speed is 35.26 Mbps (megabit per second), India has only 12.07 Mbps. The global average upload speed and latency is 11.22 Mbps and 42 ms, India falls behind at 4.31 Mbps and higher latency of 52 ms.

Mobile internet data needed daily

While unlimited data is highly rated, we may not need so much of mobile data if we have home Wi-Fi for online classes, gaming and watching videos.

Mobile internet data consumed on average per hour:

Better speeds more important than unlimited data

On YouTube content creators are already posting 4K videos, but if you play the video, it may take forever to load. Also, the telcos attract users to spend more on data; they need to improve speeds. The calculation is simple. If you can play a 4K video on your phone smoothly, then you will drain 2GB of data in one hour. You may end up buying more data, helping telcos boost ARPU.