Broadband Speed Below the Promised Plan: Prove It, Then Make the ISP Choose

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

A complaint that says “internet is slow” gets a script reply. A complaint built on a table like this gets a decision. Fill in your own numbers before you write a single line to the operator.

The gap between row one and row two is your whole case. Everything below is about making that gap undeniable and then forcing a choice: deliver the speed, or stop charging for it.

TRAI regulates broadband quality of service. The long-standing benchmark in TRAI's broadband QoS framework has been that the subscriber should receive the subscribed speed, and the older norm operators were measured against required delivery of at least 80 per cent of the subscribed speed. From October 2024, TRAI's consolidated quality of service regulations for access and broadband services tightened how fixed-line operators measure and report speeds. You do not need to argue regulation numbers with customer care. You need the principle: the plan speed is the promise you paid for, and sustained delivery far below it is a service deficiency you can take to a consumer commission.

One honest check before you start. If you have crossed your monthly data limit, most plans lawfully reduce speed under the fair usage policy. Confirm your usage first. A speed complaint that ignores FUP collapses in the first reply.

Evidence beats adjectives. Spend one week on this.

• Test with the TRAI MySpeed app, which reports results to TRAI, and take screenshots of each result.
• Add at least two wired tests from a laptop connected by LAN cable. This kills the standard excuse that your Wi-Fi router or walls are the problem.
• Test at different hours, including late night. If you get 95 Mbps at 6 am and 12 Mbps at 9 pm, the line is fine and the operator has oversold its local node. Evening-only collapse is a congestion problem on their side, not yours.
• Note date, time, and result for every test in one simple table, like the one above.

This log is the unique asset in your file. No call centre can argue with nine timestamped readings.

1. Operator complaint centre. Raise the speed complaint with your log attached. Get a docket number under the operator's complaint redressal system. Ask for the resolution in writing, not a “we have optimised your connection” closure.
2. Appellate authority of the operator. If the docket closes without the speed improving, appeal to the operator's appellate authority, whose contact must be published on its website. Attach the log and the closed dockets. TRAI itself does not decide individual complaints, so this internal appeal is the formal step that matters.
3. National Consumer Helpline. Register on 1915 or consumerhelpline.gov.in. Free, fast to file, and it creates an independent record.
4. Consumer commission via e-Daakhil. File at edaakhil.nic.in for deficiency in service. Claim a refund of the difference between the plan you paid for and the service you received, plus compensation. No court fee applies to claims up to Rs 5 lakh.

• Fix: restore the subscribed speed within seven days, confirmed by joint testing.
• Rebate: a pro-rated credit for the weeks the line ran degraded, and for any full outage days. Ask for it explicitly; operators rarely volunteer rebates.
• Downgrade with refund: move you to the cheaper plan that matches the speed actually delivered, and refund the difference already paid.
• Exit without penalty: if nothing changes, closure of the account with a full refund of unused advance and deposit. If that money then gets stuck, our guide on recovering a broadband deposit and advance takes over.

Your ISP, if private, is outside the RTI Act. But two public authorities hold useful records. TRAI is a public authority, and you can file an RTI application asking for the quality of service monitoring or audit reports filed by your operator for your service area, and the action TRAI took on them. The Department of Telecommunications is also covered. An RTI reply showing your operator failed its QoS benchmarks is strong supporting material in a consumer complaint. If your provider is BSNL, the RTI route applies to the operator itself. Start with how to file RTI online, and see using RTI in a telecom billing dispute for a related play.

This guide is for a working but slow connection. If your connection was never installed after payment, read broadband not installed after payment. If you have quit and your money is stuck, read broadband deposit not refunded. The complaint mechanics are detailed in how to file a telecom complaint, and more guides sit at the practical guides hub.

Possibly both, which is why wired tests matter. A test over Wi-Fi measures your router and interference too. Run a LAN cable test from a laptop. If the wired result is also far below plan, the operator's “your Wi-Fi” defence is finished.

No. Plans are sold in megabits per second (Mbps). Download managers often show megabytes per second (MBps), which is eight times smaller. A 100 Mbps line downloading at about 12 MBps is performing correctly. Check the unit before complaining.

Not usually. A disclosed fair usage policy is part of the plan you accepted. Your dispute is valid when speeds fall below the plan while you are within the limit, or if the FUP cut goes below the floor speed the plan itself promises.

They are the most credible readings an ordinary subscriber can produce, because the app is TRAI's own and results carry timestamps. Consumer commissions decide on the whole record, so pair MySpeed screenshots with wired test results and your ticket history.

You can claim it. Ask the operator for a pro-rated rebate for the documented degraded period. If it refuses, include the amount in your consumer complaint as part of the deficiency claim. Your speed log defines the period, which is another reason to keep it.

Reply on the ticket in writing that the issue is not resolved, attach a fresh test, and ask for it to be reopened. Repeated false closures strengthen your appellate and consumer case, so save every closure SMS and email.

Download the broadband speed evidence checklist (PDF).