A 2018 update of fixed Internet broadband speeds and pricing across the Caribbean.
We are continuing our efforts to track the changes that have occurred with respect to fixed Internet broadband speeds and pricing across the Caribbean. In this Snapshot, we summarise our findings and briefly share some of the observations we have made.
Methodology
Table 1: 2018 list of ISPs examined (Source: ICT Pulse)
The methodology employed has remained unchanged from earlier exercises. Data was collected from the websites of widely used Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the countries covered. To the extent possible, at least two ISPs were examined in each country (Table 1), and focussed on fixed (non-dialup) Internet services, and on service plans for domestic/residential customers. This year, 18 Caribbean countries were examined.
The offerings from the ISPs varied drastically in respect of transmission speeds and rates, hence the exercise was limited to identifying (per country):
- the lowest advertised download speed and the corresponding lowest monthly rate
- the highest advertised download speed and the corresponding lowest monthly rate, and
- the highest download speed plan that can be purchased for no more than USD 60.00 per month.
Under International Telecommunications Union standards, between 1.5 and 2 Mbps is considered the threshold speed for classifying an Internet service as broadband. In previous review exercises and using 2 Mbps as a baseline reference, we would examine the monthly rate for a plan with an advertised download speed of 2 Mbps. However, increasingly, most plans on offer exceed that 2 Mbps threshold; we have thus abandoned examination of that metric.
Finally, it is emphasised that the review focused on the monthly rates payable for the specified Internet plans only. The exercise excluded initial subscription and activation fees, as well as any additional monthly charges that might be applicable. The rates were converted from the local currency to United States Dollars (USD), for ease of comparison.
2018 broadband Internet speed and prices
Table 2 shows the minimum and maximum advertised download speeds offered in the 18 countries examined, along with the corresponding best rates for those download speeds.
Table 2: Lowest and highest advertised download speeds and the corresponding best rates in select Caribbean countries as at May 2018 (Source: ISP websites)
In only four of the 18 countries examined – Belize, Cayman Islands, Guyana and Jamaica – were there plans where the advertised download speed was under 2 Mbps. In around two-thirds of the countries, ISPs are offering customers Internet plans with advertised download speeds of at least 100 Mbps, with the ISPs in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago offering residential customers plans with an advertised download speed of up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps).
In order to get a sense of the cost-effectiveness of the plans available across the region, we sought to determine what might be fastest Internet broadband plan a customer could purchase for no more than USD 60.00 per month. The results are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2.
Figure 1: Fastest Internet plan by advertised download speed for under USD 60.00 in select Caribbean countries as of May 2018 (Source: ISP websites)
Figure 2: Fastest Internet plan by advertised download speed for under USD 60.00 and the corresponding monthly rate in select Caribbean countries as of May 2018 (Source: ISP websites)
Although not shown in Figure 3, the fastest plan was found in Barbados, where for USD 60.00 per month a plan with an advertised download speed of up to 240 Mbps can be secured. The next fastest plans, 100 Mbps and 75 Mbps, were found in the Aruba (also not shown in Figure 3) and Trinidad and Tobago, at approximately USD 55.30 and USD 59.26, respectively.
On other hand, the slowest but most expensive Internet plan, 512 kbps, was recorded in the Cayman Islands, and would cost approximately USD 48.78. The next slowest plans, at 2 Mbps, were recorded in Belize and Dominica, with a monthly rate of approximately USD 41.79 and USD 27.83, respectively.
How do this year’s results compare with those from 2017?
The continued roll out of Digicel Play in select countries across the Caribbean, which comprises the use of digital and fibre technologies to offer voice telephony, subscriber television and broadband Internet, is changing the region’s broadband Internet landscape. The aggressive competition in that segment is not only driving faster download speeds, but also relatively lower rates – for the speeds on offer.
However, as was stated in our 2017 Snapshot, it is unlikely that broadband Internet rates, especially at the lower download speeds, will decrease significantly from current levels. Instead, ISPs are likely to maintain their rates around current levels, but increase download, and even the upload, speeds. Such an approach is already evident, since last year’s review, in countries such as Anguilla, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, to name few, in which ISPs made some of their plans faster, particularly the lower speed plans, but marginally increased the rates payable.
Image credit: Mediamodifier (Pixabay)
Great Job Michele. It would be interesting to see the minimum prices over time for the minimum broadband package available for each country. This would give us an indicator for accessibility as people disposable incomes or the GDP of these fragile economies don’t vary much from year to year
Craig, thanks for the comment, and the support.
I have been conducting the Snapshot of mobile speed and spend since 2011, and the identification of the lowest (download) speed plan and its corresponding price, has been part of the review process since the start. So, there should be about 7 years’ worth of data already published/available on ICT Pulse.