Hyderabad, India's first 'Giga City', gets 1GBPS internet plan
What's the story
Hyderabad has become India's first 'Giga City' with the launch of ACT Fibernet's 1 GBPS broadband internet services.
The Bengaluru-based company invested Rs. 100cr for the project, which took over 1.5 years to roll out.
Inaugurating the services, IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao said the product will help the government in advancing Telangana as a technology and digital hub.
Targets
Who will benefit?
The Rs. 5,999/month plan, with a cap of 1 TB, will be of particular benefit to start-ups, retail outlets as well as internet companies.
Additionally, individual users will now be able to download a high-quality movie in seconds.
The Telangana assembly and secretariat would also be upgrading to the high-speed plan soon, Rao said.
Data
With 4.1Mbps average speed, India registering massive advancement
A 2016 Akamai report ranked India 105th in terms of internet speed with an average speed of 4.1Mbps, an increase from 114th at the year's starting. India also broke into the top-ten in IPv4 broadband connectivity, with over 18mn unique IPv4 addresses.
ACT
ACT's business plans: 10 more cities on its radar
Investors True North and TA Associates would assist with funds required for the high-speed project.
Last fiscal, ACT registered revenues of Rs. 900cr and is expecting a 30% growth this year.
With over five lakh subscribers, 50% of its business comes from Hyderabad alone.
ACT plans to launch the plan in 10 more cities, with investments of Rs. 1,200cr in the next two years.
Do you know?
Reliance Jio planning an entry?
Reliance Jio is reportedly testing its own high-speed broadband fibre network to the home wired network in Mumbai and Pune, which has been named Reliance Jio GigaFiber. Though there is no official confirmation yet, sources say it will also offer speeds up to 1GBPS.
Statistics
India's internet users' database, world's second largest, set to double
An August 2016 report by NASSCOM-Akamai Technologies said India's 350-mn strong internet-userbase, the second largest after China, would more than double to 730mn by 2020.
75% of the new users would come from rural regions, the report predicted.
With its thrust on Digital-India, the government is also pushing forward the sector; it recently announced plans to boost high-speed broadband to 1.5 lakh gram panchayats.