Are you pissed off with low speed of your broadband Internet connection? It’s quite probable that your Internet service provider does not provide you with the bandwidth that you were made to believe you would get. But thanks to their ‘up to’ 256kbps [or any other bandwidth speed] clause, they are not at fault even if you actually get a far slower connectivity. But now we can look forward to some relief from this trickery.
The telecom regulator TRAI has taken a tough stand on this mode of circumventing the law using clauses like ‘up to’. TRAI has said that the service providers should not advertise in a way that does not commit any minimum speed. It has asked the service providers to guarantee a minimum download speed while providing Internet connections and also provide correct information about it.
A TRAI press-release said,
Incidences have come to the notice of TRAI where service providers are using words like ‘up to’ to define broadband speed without indicating minimum committed speed of the packages. In certain cases packages of Internet speed less than 256 kbps have also been marketed as broadband connections. TRAI has already written to all the service providers not to use words like ‘up to’ and unambiguously indicate minimum committed speed of the plan which must be at least 256 kbps in case of broadband.
The regulator has said, the service providers have agreed to clearly mention minimum guaranteed speed limit for broadband Internet connections. At present a broadband connection is defined as an ‘always-on’ Internet access with a minimum speed of 256 Kbps from the service provider’s (ISP) Node to the customer premises equipment.
This can give much relief to users as they would get a guaranteed minimum speed for their Internet connections. I am looking forward to the implementation of TRAI’s guidelines so that I am assured a minimum speed for my broadband connection, which at present keeps dipping every now and then far below acceptable levels. A good speed is always a pleasant surprise and most elusive.
Hope I [and all of you] get a consistent Internet speed, that doesn’t dip beyond respectable limits and we actually get the speed what we are promised.
Image: Flickr
Source: Business standard
