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Data gathered from 195 countries shows that despite significant fluctuations, the average price of a broadband deal globally remains fairly constant.
Broadband is a vital tool for many people around the world, but not all broadband plans are created the same.
Cable.co.uk, assisted by consumer insight consultancy BVA BDRC, analysed data from 3,303 fixed-line broadband deals in 195 countries to discover the cheapest and most exorbitant plans in the world.
Where is the cheapest broadband?
As far as the world’s cheapest broadband, Ukraine nabs the top spot with an average cost of $5 per month. The most expensive is the north-west African nation of Mauritania, with an average package of $768.16.
Four of the top six cheapest countries in the world are found in the former USSR, including Russia itself, with an average package cost of just $9.77 per month.
In Asia, Sri Lanka is the cheapest country, with an average package price of $5.65 monthly, followed by Iran and Nepal. In Central America, Mexico is the cheapest country, while Panama is the most expensive. In Ireland, the average monthly plan costs $65.12, with the UK much cheaper at $39.58.
Meanwhile, the US has some of the most expensive plans in the world, with the average package costing $67.69 monthly, putting the country at 119th place. Dan Howdle, consumer telecoms analyst at Cable.co.uk, said: “The United States is a point of particular interest in this dataset. As arguably the world’s most technologically advanced western nation, its broadband is shockingly expensive compared to much of the world.
“In fact, it costs seven times as much to get a broadband deal in the United States as it does to get one in Russia, and over 64pc more than it does in China.”
The top 10 cheapest countries to get a broadband plan are, in order: Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Iran, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Syria, Israel, Egypt and Romania.
The top 10 most expensive places are: Mauritania, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Laos, Paraguay, Haiti, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Cook Islands.
Prices remain static
Howdle added: “Despite many countries providing faster access year on year, and the price of broadband fluctuating – sometimes wildly – from country to country, on average the price of broadband worldwide remains largely unchanged, falling just 1.64pc since the fourth quarter of 2017.”
He added: “The countries with slow, patchy broadband infrastructure that supplies only a fraction of the population tend to be the most expensive.
“Likewise, those with exceptional, often full-fibre (FTTH) infrastructure supplying the majority of the population tend to be the cheapest – if not in absolute terms, certainly on a cost-per-megabit basis.”
