India among countries with weakest mobile networks for video streaming

According to OpenSignal, India also has the poorest download speed on 4G and 3G mobile networks across the world

Indian telecom operators have been expanding their 4G and 3G internet coverage areas, but they still failed to provide consistent mobile video streaming experience, leading to frequent stalling during video playback and long loading times even for low-resolution video, according to a report in UK-based data analytics firm OpenSignal. Characterised as poor, the country ranked at the bottom rung with an overall video score of 38.62, only above Iran (38.57) and Philippines (34.98). Moreover, the report also states that the country’s overall download speed (5.63Mbps) on 4G and 3G networks is slowest in the world.

Though speed is one of the crucial factors that impact the overall video streaming experience, it is not the only one. Factors such as network congestions, latency and operator policy with regard to using mobile data consumption by video streaming services also affect the overall video streaming experience. According to the report, latency – response time of a network – has a big impact on video experience. Even with a stable connection speed, a low latency could lead to video stalling, therefore hampers the video streaming experience. Speaking of stable connection speed, it is not east for mobile operators to provide consistent speed due to nature of cellular networking. Unlike wireline broadband, where subscribers often have a dedicated line to the network, mobile networks operate through shared capacity. As the number of users and data demands change on any given cell, the mobile network is constantly sharing and redistributing its available capacity, which can create large fluctuations in individual connection speed from one moment to the next.

In India, though the telecom operators are widening their 4G and 3G reach, their huge user base is often cited as one of the reasons for network congestion, therefore slow and unstable network speed and low latency network that directly hampers video streaming experience on mobile devices. 

The data for India’s 22 telecom circles in the 90 days from the start of May 2018, as analysed by OpenSignal, show that the country’s 4G LTE footprint has grown significantly, and all the circles have more than 80 per cent 4G LTE coverage. It is important to note that the overall internet penetration in India might have improved, but the mobile internet speed continues to remain sluggish. On this count, India fares quite poorly, and is ranked lower even to neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka. According to a report by online speed testing platform Ookla, while the global average mobile download internet speed stood at 22.99 Mbps in August, India's average download speed of 9.15 Mbps was even slower than Pakistan's 13.04 Mbps and Sri Lanka's 17.35 Mbps.