Pathetic doesn’t even begin to describe the Indian broadband subscriber numbers.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the total broadband subscriber base in India reached 4.38 million by the end of June 2008 compared to 4.15 million by the end of May 2008.

The TRAI defines broadband as speeds greater than or equal to a puny 256 Kbps.

Broadband Subscribers in India (in million)
June 08   June 07   Mar 07   Mar 06
4.38          2.52      2.34     1.35

When other countries like Korea, Japan and even the U.S. are aggressively deploying fibre optic cables that provide Internet access at speeds higher than 100 Mbps, it’s a shame that India should be stuck in the slow lane of the information superhighway.

Will WiMAX provide the broadband impetus in India? It’s hard to say but on a tangential note WiMAX has yet to gain any traction in the U.S. where the new Clearwire is waiting on FCC approvals.