Mobile download speed remained flat in India during Covid-19 outbreak: Ookla

Ookla on Monday said that the fixed broadband download speed in India increased very slightly between the weeks of March 2 and March 9. The mobile download speed remained flat during the period. Ookla is running a special analysis on the impact of Covid-19 on global internet performance.

"As of February, the Speedtest Global Index ranks India 128th worldwide for mobile broadband performance, unchanged from January's ranking, and 69th for fixed broadband speeds globally. India witnessed a slight dip of 1.75 Mbps and a drop by 3 places in mean fixed broadband download speeds, while mean mobile download speeds remained flat," the company said in a release.

The internet metrics firm said that mobile and fixedline speeds in China dipped during the coronavirus outbreak that has forced millions of people to work remotely. According to Ookla's February index, China's mobile download speeds dipped from 68.3Mbps in January to 57.26Mbps in February.

Ookla's latest report for Europe reveals a decline in speed in some markets and a flat trajectory in some. "Austria had a noticeable decrease in mobile download speed between the weeks of March 9 and March 2, the lowest speed in that country since before the week of December 19, 2019. Fixed broadband download speed in Austria remained flat, week-over-week," Ookla said on its website.

The internet performance has become a big concerns for organisations and governments with millions of people staying home and working remotely in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. In Europe, OTT platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ have already reduced streaming quality to reduce the burden on the internet infrastructure.

Back in India, industry body COAI has called upon the OTT platforms such as Amazon, Hotstar and Netflix among others to reduce streaming quality. It has sought change the streaming resolution from HD to SD to reduce the load on the networks.

"It is pertinent to note that the need of the hour is that companies offering streaming platform service and TSPs take joint responsibility to take steps to ensure smooth functioning of the data communication networks to align with other measures being taken in this battle to curb the propagation of the virus," COAI said in its letter to the OTT services.