Indian residential users to get 1 Gbps in 6 to 9 months

Indian residential broadband users may have access to the ultimate download speeds of one gigabit per second plan by mid-2013. This was announced by the according telecom infrastructure firm Radius Infratel. The services are expected to be launched within next 6-9 months. However the cities covered or the ISPs are yet to be known.

Radius has partnered with real estate developers, including DLF, Unitech, Emaar MGF, Ansal, Mantri, Vipul, ATS, Omaxe, Vipul, M3M, Paramount and Prateek for fibre optic network that will provide high-speed broadband services inprojects being developed by them. The connectivity till the last point will be via fibre optic cables.

Currently the ISPs offer speeds like 2Mbps or even upto 8Mbps that are known to most of us. Recently Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices have launched 100 megabit per second plans for home users which cost over Rs 5,000 per month. However the speed of 1Gbps is beyond imaginaton. In terms of conventional usage, its like you can download a HD movie of average size of 2.2GB in under 30 seconds.

Recently Google launched its 1 gbps residential fiber network in the US city of Kansas. Google charges $70 for its unlimited internet plan plus $300 for installation. The service was launched as a technology demonstration exercise.

Its really prestigious that India adapts this technological advancement so quickly. With speeds of this kind, the way we look at internet may change. The cable and DTH services may soon become outdated with internet streaming services becoming common. High end PCs and laptops may be replaced by cloud based inexpensive systems.