Pakistan's 4G Speeds More Than Twice Faster Than India's

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan's mobile broadband operators are offering download speeds of 11.7 Mbps, more than twice faster than neighboring India's 5.14 Mbps as measured. 3G/4G/LTE Subscriptions are rising rapidly at a rate of about a million a month since the initial rollout in late 2014 brining the total number of subscribers to 41.72 million as of May, 2017.  Growing availability and rising speeds are enabling many new Internet applications that are increasing access to education/training, financial services and commerce while reducing the digital divide between the rich and the poor.

4G/LTE Speeds Source: Open Signal

4G/LTE Speeds: 

Pakistan wireless carriers offer average 4G speed of 11.7 Mbps, more than twice faster than Indian operators' 5.14 Mbps, according to a report by New York based Open Signal's "The State of LTE" report released in June, 2017. Singapore tops the list with 45.6 Mbps 4G download speed. Worldwide average for LTE is 16.2 Mbps.

Here's an excerpt of the Open Signal report: 

"Our measurements for 4G availability, which tracks how often 4G subscribers in a country have access to an LTE signal, is gradually improving around the world. In some countries in East Asia LTE signals are as ubiquitous as 2G and 3G signals, while in the vast majority of countries we examined, our testers were able to connect to LTE more than 60% of the time." 

In terms of coverage, India is far ahead of Pakistan with the service accessible in 81.56% of the country. Pakistan lags behind with a mere 53.49% coverage. It's important to note that the initial 4G roll-out in both India and Pakistan occurred in late 2014. However, India began offering 3G service in 2010, about 4 years before Pakistan.

3G/4G Subscription Growth: 

Since the initial rollout in late 2014, both 3G and 4G subscriptions have skyrocketed from zero to 41.72 million in May 2017. Of these, 5.98 million subscriptions are for 4G/LTE while the rest are 3G subscriptions, according to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA).

The 3G/4G/LTE ramp rate in Pakistan works out to over a million new subscribers per month since the initial rollout. As of May, 2017, Mobilink (Jazz) leads the 3G/4G market with over 13.40 million subscribers, followed by Telenor (10.98 million 3G and 4G subscribers), CMPak (12.49 million 3G and 4G subscribers), and Ufone (4.83 million 3G subscribers).

Jazz recently won a 4G license for $295 million at an auction on June 30, 2017. The company is expected to significantly expand 4G coverage in the country.

Applications:

Growth of 3G/4G networks and smartphones has spawned a variety of applications from social media apps to business, education and entertainment apps. Use of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube has soared.  E-commerce is growing. Taxi-hailing service Uber has arrived in the country. Netflix has entered the Pakistani market. Government is making use of the Internet applications to deliver services.

Digital Cable, DTH:

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) is pushing all cable service providers to support digital television. PEMRA is also auctioning Direct-to-Home (DTH) service which is digital. Both of these mediums will help increase internet broadband penetration in the country and bring more and more people on line.

Internet Infrastructure:

Rapid growth of data is driving infrastructure improvements in Pakistan. Tens of thousands of kilometers of fiber is being laid to cope with rising Internet traffic.  Universal Service Fund (USF) alone has installed 5,500 kilometers of fiber in underserved areas of the country to increase digital inclusion.

Pakistan currently has 16 data centers: 8 in Karachi, 5 in Lahore and 3 in Islamabad. The numbers are expected to grow significantly with growing demand.

Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has set up the first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Islamabad and more are planned for other major cities. IXPs connect Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) like Amazon and Akamai to facilitate faster delivery of web pages and other content to users.

Digital Inclusion:

Beginning in October 2016,  Pakistani government is giving away five million smartphones to farmers in the country in an effort to improve knowledge of modern farming techniques, according to the BBC. Large numbers of farmers in countries such as India and Kenya have also recently experimented with smartphone technology.

In addition, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) has announced plans to give away 30,000 smartphones with 3G subscriptions funded by Universal Service Fund (USF) to low income Pakistanis on BISP.  Each smartphone will have Rs. 250 balance per month. It is intended to enhance digital and financial inclusion, according to a report in Pakistan Observer.

The objective of giving away smartphones is to help increase farmers' productivity.  Digital access is is expected to reduce poverty in rural and semi-urban areas of Pakistan by supporting micro and small enterprises. Market access to the products of marginalized segments will improve their welfare and at the same time boost the national economy.

Lack of financial inclusion and the growing digital divide are known impediments to progress of the low-income and poor segments of the population. Any effort by the government to remove such impediments will help Pakistan's economy by making more people more productive.

 Summary:

Pakistan's mobile broadband operators are offering download speeds of 11.7 Mbps, more than twice faster than neighboring India's 5.14 Mbps as measured. 3G/4G/LTE Subscriptions are rising rapidly at a rate of about a million a month since the initial rollout in late 2014 brining the total number of subscribers to 41.72 million as of May, 2017.  Growing availability and rising speeds are enabling many new Internet applications that are increasing access to education/training, financial services and commerce while reducing the digital divide between the rich and the poor.  Internet data usage is soaring with rapidly rising broadband penetration and smartphone ownership in Pakistan. Infrastructure is being improved to cater to the digital data explosion taking place in the country. Universal Service Fund (USF) is playing its part to support this effort in underserved areas.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Bridging Digital Divide in Pakistan

Fiber Connectivity in Pakistan

Pakistan Government Apps

Data Boom in Pakistan

Pakistan 2.0: Technology Driving Productivity

Uber in Pakistan

E-Commerce in Pakistan

[Riaz Haq]

#Mobile #CellPhone & #Satellites Improve #Farming in #Pakistan. #Irrigation #Agriculture #Water #Technology

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/mobile-phones-improve-farming...

Mobile phones and satellites are becoming valuable farming tools in Pakistan.

A new program there uses satellite information to estimate how much water a field needs. The satellite then sends this information by text message to farmers' mobile phones.

The program’s aim is to prevent the farmers from overwatering crops. A 2013 report from the Asian Development Bank says Pakistan has some of the most severe water problems in the world. The country’s water availability is similar to Syria’s, where a lack of rainfall has intensified civil war.

Pakistan is only able to store water that can last up to 30 days. That is far below the recommended storage amount of 1,000 days.

Several issues have led to Pakistan’s water crisis. They include climate changes, a growing population, local water mismanagement and a greater demand on farmers.

Many fear the water crisis could weaken relations between Pakistan and India. The two countries share the Indus River.

Turning off the water

Many older Pakistani farmers received agricultural training several years ago, when water was more readily available. They know the risks that come with underwatering crops.

But using too much water can reduce crop harvests.

The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources found that rice farmers were using more than three times as much water as they needed.

The council asked the Sustainability, Satellites, Water, and Environment research group, at the University of Washington, to get involved. The council wanted the research group to use science to help inform irrigation choices.

Pakistan's program started with 700 farmers in the spring of 2016. By January, 10,000 farmers were receiving text messages with a water amount advisory. For example, one message read: "Dear farmer friend, we would like to inform you that the irrigation need for your banana crop was 2 inches during the past week."

The messages come from a fully-automated system. It uses publicly available satellite information. It also uses models to compute how much water each farmer needs to irrigate.

A national effort

The council plans to expand the program for use across the country, and expects millions of farmers to participate. But first the system must be reviewed.

The researchers want to know how easy it is for farmers to use, and how many follow the irrigation advisories. They also want to know how accurate it is and whether it saves farmers money.

They are collecting responses from farmers over the phone.

Faisal Hossain is with the University of Washington. He says he has not seen a report on the results yet. However, the group heard from one farmer in the program who said he was able to get about 700 kilograms more wheat than his neighbor. The farmer said he believes the irrigation advisories made this possible.

Expanding the program may be difficult. The council may need to work harder to persuade farmers to trust the technology. Those working on smaller farms may not feel comfortable depending on mobile phone technology.

Mobile phones are already very common in Pakistan, however. And last year the Punjab government announced that it would give out 5 million smartphones to farmers.

[Riaz Haq]

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > PAKISTAN
Pakistan most affordable country in world for telecom, ICT services: WEF

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1219605/pakistan-affordable-country-wo...

Pakistan has been ranked as most the affordable country for ICT services, according to a report published by the World Economic Forum.

The WEF on Thursday published its annual “Global Information Technology Report 2016” which showed Pakistan’s technology and telecom market had the world’s lowest price points as compared to other markets from around the globe.

The report analysed relevant indexes from 139 global markets and rated them against each other. The countries were rated for their financial conditions as well as other factors such as usage, general environment, and impact.

“Pakistan is the market with the lowest price points,” the report said.

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistan’s #4G #broadband #speed of 14.03 megabits per second (Mbps) faster than #India’s 9.12 Mbps, according to speedtest.net of Ookla – a global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1762876/2-pakistans-4g-broadband-speed...

Despite the challenges Pakistan faces in promoting information technology and bringing more and more people online, international internet speed gauging platform Ookla has said that Pakistan’s 4G mobile broadband is faster than its neighbour India’s.

Pakistan is ranked 96th in the world in download speed on mobile broadband based on the June Speed-test Global Index, with average speed of 14.03 megabits per second (Mbps). It is better than that in India which stands at 109th place with average speed of 9.12 Mbps,according to speedtest.net of Ookla – a global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis.

According to the website, the global average of mobile internet download speed is estimated at 23.54 Mbps.

Indian operators are focusing on spreading 4G outreach than injecting more speed into the already present 4G service, according to OpenSignal that specialises in wireless coverage mapping.

Smartphone usage is on the rise in India with 358 million mobile internet users and more users are coming online, resulting in slower mobile internet speeds, says a report in the Indian publication The Economic Times.

Because of the vast area, India has higher latency which is one of the reasons consumers are receiving slower internet.

Latency is the duration taken by a data packet to move between the user’s device and internet server. The higher the latency, the slower the user’s internet experience.

Pakistan’s 3G/4G subscribers stand at 56 million with 75% teledensity, meaning 25% population has not yet been covered, particularly in Balochistan. In this province, 46% of population has no access to either mobile, wireless or fixed line network.

Number of 3G, 4G users reaches 49.5m by Jan 2018

The Universal Service Fund (USF), which collects funds from all cellphone service providers in an attempt to expand telecom infrastructure, has disbursed grants worth Rs50 billion to mobile operators for projects in different telecom regions.

Its five out of six fibre optic projects are for Balochistan which is likely to get better facilities in future.

However, in fixed internet, India is better than Pakistan as it is ranked 62nd with average internet speed of 23.27 Mbps while Pakistan stands at 122nd place with internet speed of 7.55 Mbps.

4G services launched in Gwadar

Pakistan also lags behind India in the Inclusive Internet Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) mainly due to unavailability of content in local languages.

[Riaz Haq]

#India's smartphone shipments plummeted 48% YoY in Q2, a big blow to #Modi's #DigitalIndia initiative to attract foreign #tech investments. #COVID19 #Lockdown #coronavirus https://www.businessinsider.com/indian-smartphone-shipments-plummet... via @businessinsider

Smartphone shipments in India fell to 17.3 million units in Q2 2020, representing a precipitous 48% year-over-year (YoY) decline, according to Canalys. The Canalys report suggests that the decline was due to lack of supply more than lack of demand: More than 96% of smartphones sold in India had been assembled domestically, but manufacturing facilities suspended operations during the coronavirus lockdown that began in March and lasted through mid-May.

Xiaomi and Oppo — which together accounted for 43% of Q2 2020 shipments in India — began importing smartphones from China to India to bolster the limited supply. Coronavirus cases have soared in India since the lockdown ended, particularly in dense urban areas, according to The New York Times. And the economic impacts of the lockdown will not easily be reversed, considering nearly 10 million migrant workers relocated back to villages during the economic stoppage, and an estimated 500,000 of those individuals traveled by foot or bike, sometimes for hundreds of miles, according to Brookings.

The rapid decline in smartphone shipments will disrupt the Indian government's efforts to grow the digital economy. As outlined in the Digital India initiative, India's economic development is predicated on growing the base of smartphone users to expand internet access, which is intended to attract foreign investment in the tech sector. Only 40% of India's 1.3 billion residents currently have internet access, per eMarketer.

The slowdown in smartphone shipments represents a significant disruption to India's digitization trajectory, and the prospects of a recovery are slim to none through the remainder of 2020. This will hinder Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Self-Reliant India" initiative, which aims to use tariffs and subsidies to encourage companies to employ workers in India if they want access to the massive digital consumer market.

India will now be further reliant on big tech companies to accelerate digitization by subsidizing resources needed for internet access. Tech giants have played a central role in expanding internet access within India, as they are often willing to subsidize internet and devices in a bid to grow market share. For example, Jio, the largest wireless carrier in India by subscribers, made its JioPhone "effectively free" in India as the initial payment of Rs 1,500 ($20) would be refunded after three years of service.

Jio offers data for as cheap as Rs 199 ($2.60) per month — we believe Jio will further subsidize plans, as this can expand the market for the super app it is developing in partnership with Facebook. Facebook even tried to give internet access away for free in India under its Free Basics program, but the government intervened on net neutrality grounds, as the service would have only given users access to 80 websites sanctioned by Facebook.

Just last week, Google agreed to purchase a $4.5 billion stake in Jio, and the companies intend to develop an entry-level 5G smartphone aimed at upgrading 350 million people in India who currently use 2G phones. The Indian government will likely look more favorably towards these sorts of initiatives as the coronavirus has disrupted its digitization timeline, and big tech will be given greater leeway to expand access to its services through subsidies as a result.