A new report by Surfshark reveals that Indians are overpaying for their internet. The VPN provider recently released the Global Internet Value Index (IVi), which is a list that ranks countries based on how much its people are overpaying for internet access. India ranks 44th in it. The index aims to look at internet connectivity from a practical perspective, looking at whether people are getting what they’re paying for. As such, the Global Internet Value index (IVi) is calculated by dividing each country’s internet speed (both fixed broadband internet and mobile internet) by internet affordability to determine which countries are overpaying for their internet. The aspects taken into consideration include time to work to afford fixed broadband internet (hours), time to work to afford mobile internet (hours), median fixed broadband download speed (Mbps), and median mobile internet download speed (Mbps). India with its 44th position has an index of 0.0542, which is 26% lower than the global average, meaning Indians are overpaying for the internet they get. India still fares better when compared to neighbours, though, ranking tops in Southern Asia. Bangladesh and Nepal rank 83rd and 77th, respectively, both overpaying for the internet they get. Pakistan and Tajikistan were one of the lowest-ranking Asian countries. However, the bigger picture is not as rosy. Out of the five Asian subregions, Southern Asia performs the worst, with its index 79% lower than the Asian average. It was found that every country in Southern and Central Asia overpays for internet connections since they all have an internet value index lower than the regional average. Meanwhile, 78% of European people get their internet at fair prices, with Denmark taking the lead from the continent on the index. And in North America, 7 out of every 10 individuals can access the internet at a fair price. Surfshark previously released another report revealing that India is the 7th most cyber-breached country in the world, although this is a drastic improvement over the previous years, with the country progressing from the third to the seventh position.
