The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a White Paper on ‘Wireless Data Speed Measurement’ to suggest way forward that requires initiatives and support from various stakeholders who can help in accomplishing the objectives of successful wireless data measurements.
The authority’s paper said proper documentation of speed testing methodologies by all app providers should be also there as ‘measurements of quality’ of broadband with different methodologies and in different contexts may give different results.
“Filtering and aggregation criteria may also impact network level assessments. Every approach may have its own objectives and purposes. To have a better understanding and interpretation of reported results in appropriate manner, it is required that all app providers have proper documentation about the methodologies adopted by them and put this in public domain,” it said.
TRAI also suggested for optimising auto test requirements as they are helpful to capture more data points but not knowing appropriate time and event when such testing for a particular user need to be triggered may lead to unsuccessful attempts of testing.
If information collected from device and participation of users helps determine appropriate time and events when testing may be more useful and successful, logic sitting on device end itself may determine right moment for testing.
“This may avoid undesired initiation of triggers for testing. In fact, it is not always required to have more data points but what is required to collect more relevant data points,” TRAI said.
Auto tests
The regulator said achieving optimisation of auto tests may be helpful to collect appropriate data points with relatively smaller size of data. However, manual testing for the user is always required in addition to auto testing, it said.
There are many aspects of presentation of results, one is from individual user perspective, another from national policy perspective and other stakeholders may require to view results from different perspective, TRAI said.
In this paper, TRAI MySpeed data for a particular period was analysed and presented in more detailed manner, the authority said, adding that presentation of spatial and temporal distribution of data may be adopted as a regular exercise at the end of every quarter.
Individual users may be presented results in a manner and only part which is more relevant. To present results in more intuitive and intelligent manner, users may need to more willing to consent for collecting relevant data from them, it observed.
Increase in MySpeed
TRAI also said there in an increase in its MySpeed App install base and as of now it is around 24 million. However, the active users are very less and it is only around 4 million.
“To increase more data points from the different users at different locations and different point in time is needed to improve confidence level of measurements,” it added.