Unable to send files via WeTransfer? ISP might have blocked it on DoT order

Founded in 2009 in the Netherlands, WeTransfer allows users to upload and share file of up to 2GB for free at one time. Paying users can share files of up to 20 GB per transfer.

WeTransfer seems to have been blocked by some internet service providers (ISPs) in India. This came after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in an order on May 18, directed all licence holders or internet service providers to block the website in the ‘interest of national security or public interest’. Interestingly, the DoT letter does not specify a reason for blocking the website.

The popular file sharing platform in a blog post said, “At this moment in time, WeTransfer seems to be blocked and unavailable in India. We are working hard to understand the reasoning behind this block, as well as how to get it reverted as soon as possible."

The block, however, seems to have affected only limited batch of users. On June 2, the service worked fine to transfer a 1GB file and its recipient was able to download the file, too. It seems that not all ISPs are affected by the block and there is a partial ban on the services of the file sharing platform.

WeTransfer took on Twitter to let users know that the issue persists and the company is investigating it. However, it also clarifies that removing such blocks is out of company’s control. It also suggests using virtual private network services to access the platform to send files.

Founded in 2009 in the Netherlands, WeTransfer allows users to upload and share file of up to 2GB for free at one time. Paying users can share files of up to 20 GB per transfer.

India improves internet speed but still fares poorly in global rankings

In fixed broadband connections, India's rank rose four notches to 65th globally, while in mobile internet speed it fell two spots to 111^th.

Fixed broadband internet services and mobile data services in India saw some improvement in 2018 when compared with the previous year, but there may still be miles to go for the country before it ranks among the best in the world.

While India’s mobile internet speed improved marginally during the year, registering a year-on-year growth rate of 15.2 per cent, fixed broadband speed grew 50.4 per cent, according to a report by internet speed testing and analysis firm Ookla.

In November 2017, India had stood 69th and 109th in Ookla’s SpeedTest global index for fixed line broadband and mobile data, respectively. During the same period this year, the country moved up to 65th spot in fixed broadband connections with average download and upload speeds of 26.46 Mbps and 21.91, respectively. The country’s ranking in mobile data category, however, fell to 111th.

Though its ranking came down, India’s average mobile data download and upload speeds increased from 8.8 Mbps and 3.55 Mbps, respectively, in Nov 2017, to 9.93 Mbps and 3.82 Mbps in November 2018.

The report also highlighted that the world’s most populous countries — China, India, US, Indonesia and Brazil — failed to make it to the list of the fastest or most improved countries on mobile and fixed broadband. In terms of mobile data, though India ranked last, along with Indonesia, in the list of world’s most populous countries, India saw its speed improving much more quickly than Indonesia.

In terms of fixed broadband, on the other hand, India showed the biggest improvement in mean download speed (23 Mbps) among the world’s five largest countries. The report also stated that the country’s capital, New Delhi, saw a major increase (16,908 per cent) in gigabit results in 2018.

The countries with the fastest mean download speeds over mobile in 2018 were Norway (63.19 Mbps), Iceland (58.68 Mbps), Qatar (55.17 Mbps), Singapore (54.71 Mbps) and the Netherlands (53.42 Mbps).

Singapore showed the world’s fastest mean download speed over fixed broadband in 2018 at 175.13 Mbps. The next fastest were Iceland (153.03 Mbps), Hong Kong (138.31 Mbps), South Korea (114.67 Mbps) and Romania (109.90 Mbps).

Business Standard