The results of a global study on the price of 1 GB of mobile data were recently published. Here we examine the results reported for the 31 Caribbean countries included in the exercise and discuss the results. Additionally, we compare the current data with the 2021 findings.
In July 2022, United Kingdom telecoms firm, The Cable, also known as Cable.co.uk, published the results of a global study of the cost of 1 Gigabyte (GB) of mobile data. The exercise covered 233 countries, in which 5,292 mobile data plans were collated and analysed (Source: The Cable).
The study includes 31 Caribbean/Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, and in addition to presenting the results, we also briefly examine the results recorded and presented in 2021.
Key points on Cable.co.uk’s Methodology
Between 16 March 2022 and 2 June 2022, Cable.co.uk gathered and examined the mobile data plans offered in 233 countries. The following data was recorded in each country’s local currency, and thereafter, was converted to United States Dollars (USD), based on exchange rates on 12 July 2022, in order to provide a basis for comparison:
- the cheapest price for 1 GB of mobile data
- the most expensive price for 1 GB of mobile data
- the average price for 1 GB of mobile data.
In the Caribbean region, 31 countries and a total of 486 mobile data plans were analysed. Exhibit 1 list the countries and the number of mobile data plans per country that were examined.
Similar to previous iterations of this exercise, Cable.co.uk gathered data plans and prices that require a SIM card – so mobile/cellular data plan. However, it was noted that frequently, these plans would also include a number of free calls and texts. Additionally, the researchers included ‘pure data’ plans, such as those designed for tablets or laptop computers, “to provide the broadest balance of mobile data costing” (Source: The Cable).
Finally, it must be emphasised that the exercise was not restricted to examining 1 GB mobile data plans only. It would have comprised all, or a wide cross-section of the data plans available, and thereafter, to determine the rate per GB that would be payable. In countries where only unlimited data deals are available, the average data usage per user was used to calculate the cost of 1GB. Finally, it is highlighted that the average cost for 1 GB has been calculated as the MEDIAN of all recorded package prices/data limits.
Cheapest price for 1GB of mobile data
Exhibit 2 highlights the cheapest price for 1 GB of mobile data across the Caribbean. The prices ranged between USD 0.14 and USD 5.50.
The cheapest prices were recorded in Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago at USD 0.14 for 1 Gb of data, which was followed by Antigua and Barbuda, at USD 0.18, and Suriname, at USD 0.29. At the other end of the spectrum is the Turks and Caicos Islands, where the cheapest price was USD 5.50. The Turks and Caicos Islands were followed by Barbados, at USD 5.00, and Barbados, at USD 5.41, and the Cayman Islands, at USD 3.58.
Most expensive price for 1GB of mobile data
The most expensive prices for 1 GB of mobile data across the Caribbean are shown in Exhibit 3, which ranged from USD 1.07, in Haiti, to USD 90.11, in the French Caribbean.
In addition to Haiti and among Caribbean countries, the lowest prices were recorded in Dominica, at USD 2.10, and Suriname, at USD 2.84. Conversely, the most expensive prices were reported in the French Caribbean, specifically Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy and Saint-Martin. The French Caribbean was followed by the Dominican Republic, at USD 23.48 and the Caribbean Netherlands, which typically comprises Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, at USD 19.16.
The average price for 1GB of mobile data
The analysts at Cable.co.uk continue to note that “Most Caribbean nations are in the more expensive half of the list but the difference between the most expensive and the cheapest is extreme. The Cayman Islands are the most expensive in the Caribbean with an average of USD 10.43, while an average 1GB in Haiti is 28 times cheaper at USD 0.37.”. Exhibit 4 presents the average price for 1 GB of mobile data across the region.
In addition to Haiti, the lowest average prices were reported in the Dominican Republic, at USD 0.94, and in Trinidad and Tobago at USD 0.98, and in. At the bottom of the list, and in addition to the Cayman Islands, the highest average prices were recorded in the Turks and Caicos Islands, at USD 7.00, and in the British Virgin Islands, at USD 6.88.
A few thoughts on the results
As has been the trend, the price for 1 GB of data continues to vary considerably across the Caribbean region. However, it must again be emphasised that a wide cross-section of mobile data plans would have been gathered and analysed by the researchers at Cable.co.uk, which is likely to contribute to the broad variation observed.
Additionally, and compared with countries worldwide, the average price of 1 GB of mobile data in the Caribbean region is still expensive. Eight Caribbean countries – an improvement from the seven in 2021 – fell within the less expensive half of the ranking, out of 233 countries:
- Haiti (14th)
- Dominican Republic (69th);
- Trinidad and Tobago (71st)
- Guadeloupe (82nd);
- Dominica (86th)
- Jamaica (94th)
- Martinique (104th); and
- Saint Barthélemy (115th).
Having said this, in most Caribbean countries mobile data prices have been decreasing, as reflected in Exhibit 5, which indicates the percentage change for the average price of a 1 GB plan in each of the Caribbean countries examined. The comparison used average prices in the local currency, not USD, and so would not be directly affected by changes in exchange rates.
There is some concern about the increase in the average price of 1 GB of mobile data that has been recorded in Aruba, Suriname, Guadeloupe, the United States Virgin Islands and Cuba. Do note that Cuba was not included in Exhibit 5, as the average price reportedly increased by 900%(!) between 2021 and 2022, and would have unduly skewed the graph.
In the five countries cited above, further research would be needed to determine why such a substantial increase in the average price of 1 GB of mobile data was reported. For example, these prices could have been part of a bundled plan that included calls and text messaging and would be difficult to disaggregate or otherwise allocate an accurate price for 1GB of data. Hence, as a bundled plan, the overall price may be attractive, but might not compare as favourably with ‘pure data’ plans.
Image credit: Jim Makos (flickr)
