The recently published research from the Cable (UK) on fixed broadband rates across over 200 countries worldwide, and includes over 30 Caribbean countries, is examined.
In late January, United Kingdom telecoms company, The Cable, published the results of its latest research on fixed broadband Internet rates worldwide. The exercise was conducted between 28 November 2019 and 8 January 2020, and collected data from 206 countries.
Of the 206 examined, the following Caribbean/CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries were included:
Table 1: List of Caribbean/CARICOM countries included in fixed broadband Internet survey (Source: The Cable)
Methodology
In researching fixed broadband Internet prices, the data collected was presented in four key ways in order to determine:
- the average cost of a broadband package per month
- the cost of the cheapest package in each country per month
- the cost of the most expensive package in each country per month, and
- the cost of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) of bandwidth for one month.
The Cable provides a detailed account of the methodology employed, however, outlined below are some of the key points:
- All prices gathered were for fixed-line broadband packages that were delivered either by ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or some form of fibre
- Only consumer/domestic broadband packages were included. Business/enterprise broadband deals were excluded
- The prices of the broadband packages were recorded in their advertised currency, and then converted to US Dollars (USD) in order to form a basis for comparison.
- In order to determine the average cost of a fixed broadband package for each country, the median prices of all packages recorded was used, and that price included any upfront or ongoing monthly costs
- In order to determine the average cost of fixed-line broadband per megabit per month, the cost per megabit for each package was calculated by dividing the price by the speed offered in megabits per second. Then the median cost was determined.
Results: Average cost of a broadband package per month
As noted earlier, the average monthly price of a broadband Internet package is based on the median price determined for each country. Across the Caribbean countries surveyed, the lowest average price was recorded in (French) Saint Martin, at USD 24.65, whilst the highest was recorded in the British Virgin Islands, at USD 179.00.
Figure 1; Average price of a fixed-line broadband package per month in USD in select Caribbean countries, as at December 2019 (Source: The Cable)
It should be noted that Saint Martin was the ranked 39th out of the 206 countries surveyed, whilst the British Virgin Islands was ranked 199th. The top 10 countries globally were:
- Syria (USD 6.60)
- Ukraine (USD 6.64)
- Russian Federation (USD 7.35)
- Romania (USD 8.15)
- Belarus (USD 9.87)
- Bhutan (USD 10.42)
- Iran (USD 10.50)
- Kazakhstan (USD 11.10)
- Lithuania (USD 11.14)
- Vietnam (USD 11.23)
Results: Cost of the cheapest and most expensive package in each country per month
In comparing the cheapest and most expensive broadband Internet packages, as shown in Figure 2, it is readily evident that there is a wide disparity in the rates across the Caribbean region. This gap may suggest a correspondingly wide disparity in the advertised transmission speeds (and/or other features) of the packages offered; however, no specific explanation was provided.
Figure 2: The cheapest and most expensive fixed broadband Internet package per month in select Caribbean countries, as at December 2019 (Source: The Cable)
The greatest variation in fixed broadband Internet prices were recorded in the Dominican Republic (USD 275.14), Barbados (USD 260.15), the Cayman islands (USD 228.11), and the Bahamas (USD 219.73). On the other hand, the smallest variation in prices were recorded in Suriname (USD 18.83), Saint Martin (USD 19.98), the Caribbean Netherlands (USD 20.00), and Saint Lucia (USD 22.20).
Results: Average cost of 1 Mbps of bandwidth for one month
The average cost per Mbps may be the most insightful of all of the assessments conducted, as it allows for more precise comparison across the countries. In the Caribbean region, and as reflected in Figure 3, the lowest average cost per Mbps was recorded in Saint Martin, at USD 0.22 per Mbps, which was followed by Martinique (USD 0.36 per Mbps), Aruba (USD 0.44 per Mbps) and Barbados (USD 0.45 per Mbps).
Figure 3: Average cost per Mbps of fixed-line broadband Internet service in select Caribbean countries, as at December 2019 (Source: The Cable)
At the other end of the spectrum, the highest average cost per Mbps for fixed broadband Internet was recorded in Montserrat, at a whopping USD 17.74 per Mbps. Additional countries with a relatively high average cost per Mbps were: Guyana (USD 9.09); Sint Maarten (USD 7.95); and Haiti (USD 7.74).
Some thoughts on the findings
Whenever the results of global telecoms/ICT assessments are published, there tends to be some excitement in the Caribbean region, because frequently few Caribbean countries are included in such exercises. However, this survey conducted by the Cable has covered virtually all Caribbean countries, thus providing countries with much needed data, along with a basis for comparison with other countries – as has been done here, which is commendable.
However, for some of the metrics that were examined, specifically, the average cost of a broadband package per month, and the cost of the cheapest package, and the cost of the most expensive package, and without further information, the data provided is of limited utility. As would have been observed in our 2019 Snapshot of broadband speed and spend, in most Caribbean countries, there is a wide disparity between the speed and prices of the fixed broadband Internet packages offered. Hence, by just focusing on prices only – with no context from the corresponding advertised transmission speeds – gives an incomplete picture, and less than authoritative results.
As noted previously, the last assessment on the average cost per Mbps might be the most useful, as it is no longer important to be able to reference the download speeds in order to better contextualise the findings. To that end, and with regard to fixed broadband, the per Mbps cost in the Caribbean is considerably higher than for the top 10 countries surveyed (see Table 2).
Table 2: Lowest average cost per Mbps of fixed-line broadband Internet service globally (Source: The Cable)
It ought to be noted that matters related to limited economies of scale (which exists is many Caribbean countries), along with the high cost of doing business in the region, might be a few of the contributing factors to the much higher per Mbps cost in the region. However, the availability of such data can be an important reference for policies and other initiatives geared at increasing the competitiveness of Caribbean countries, as it related to fixed broadband service.
Image credit: Commscope (flickr)
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