Strategy Analytics: Dramatic price differences between cheapest and most expensive plans in OECD superfast broadband basket

Strategy Analytics publishes the OECD Fixed Broadband Price Benchmarking and observes huge price differences between countries and regions in the superfast 1GB/s basket.

October 23, 2018

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The provision of superfast broadband has increased by 25% across OECD member states. Within a year the number of providers offering the highest speed plans has increased from 49 in 24 countries to 62 in 28 countries.

As superfast broadband becomes more prevalent, the price difference between countries and regions is very notable. Almost 80% of countries where superfast broadband is available come in at under the $100 per month mark. But there are a handful of countries where costs are steep for users who want very high speeds. CYTAnet in Cyprus is a new entrant into this basket and is by far the most expensive, although this is a business service – the highest speed for consumers being 160 Mb/s. Furthermore, a high number of Eastern European countries are in the top half of the basket, with Digi Hungary, Telekom Romania and Baltcom, Latvia all featuring among the cheapest five, while huge markets like USA and Canada in the bottom half. UK providers are notably absent in this basket, with top offered speeds from the main providers reaching 350 Mb/s.

Jóhanna Helgadóttir, Senior Consultant in Teligen, says, “As infrastructure improves and providers widen their offerings, consumers will keep on demanding higher speed, reliable networks and affordable plans. The OECD Fixed Broadband Price Benchmarking service covers the top three to four providers in OECD countries and beyond, and we are exceptionally well placed to capture these developments.”

Josie Sephton, Director of Teligen, adds, “The fixed broadband market is still one of the most dynamic markets in terms of pricing developments and types of offer. We expect to see much more availability of these superfast services going forwards, both as standalone and bundled offers, and this is an area we are tracking closely.”