The recently published research from The Cable (UK) on fixed broadband rates from over 200 countries worldwide, which includes over 30 Caribbean countries, is examined.

 

Earlier this week, on Tuesday 14 March to exact, the United Kingdom telecoms company, The Cable, published the results of its latest research on the price of fixed broadband Internet service worldwide. The exercise was conducted between 2 January 2023 and 1 March 2023, with collected data from 219 countries.

Of the 219 examined, Exhibit 1 lists the Caribbean/CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries that were included.

 

Exhibit 1:  List of Caribbean/CARICOM countries included in the 2023 fixed broadband Internet survey (Source:  The Cable)

 

The previous review of fixed broadband internet rates was conducted in almost a year ago, with the results published in April 2022. So in addition to presenting the new findings, we will compare some of the 2023 results with those recorded in 2022.

 

Methodology

Similar to previous iterations of the exercise, the data collected was presented in four key ways:

  1. the average cost of a broadband plan per month
  2. the cost of the cheapest plan in each country per month
  3. the most expensive plan available, and
  4. the cost of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) of bandwidth for one month.

The Cable continues to provide a detailed account of the methodology employed, however, outlined below are some of the key points:

  • All prices gathered were for fixed-line broadband plans that were delivered either ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or some form of fibre, though there were a few exceptions
  • Only consumer/domestic broadband plans were included. Business/enterprise broadband deals were excluded
  • The prices of the broadband plans were recorded in their advertised currency, and then converted to US Dollars (USD) in order to form a basis for comparison.
  • Up to a maximum of 41 packages per country were recorded, as exceeding that cap has been shown to have negligible impact on the median averages that are output.
  • Packages that include television subscriptions and other add-on features or services have been excluded in all countries except in cases where only broadband and television bundles are available and broadband service cannot be purchased on its own, which was rare, but does exist in the Caribbean region.
  • In order to determine the average cost of a fixed broadband plan for each country, the median prices of all plans recorded are 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 plan was calculated by dividing the cost by the speed offered in megabits per second. Then the median cost was determined.

It should be noted that the average package price for each country is the median of all packages recorded, as it would not be subject to the skews of extremes in pricing.

 

Results:  Average price of a broadband internet plan per month

Across the Caribbean countries surveyed, there is a wide variance in the average cost of broadband internet plans, as shown in Exhibit 2. The lowest average price was recorded in Cuba, at USD 29.51, whilst the highest was recorded in Suriname, at USD 269.44. Across the region, the median price was USD 74.69.

 

Exhibit 2: Average price of a fixed-line broadband plan per month in USD in select Caribbean countries, as of March 2023 (Source: The Cable)

 

It should be noted only three Caribbean countries ranked within the first 100 countries surveyed: Cuba, at 68th and an average monthly price of USD 29.51,  the Dominican Republic, at 89th and an average monthly price of USD 38.70, and Martinique at 97th and an average monthly price of USD 42.47. With respect to the ranking of the bottom-three Caribbean countries, the lowest ranked out of 2019 countries was Suriname, at 218th and an average monthly price of USD 269.44, the Turks and Caicos Islands, at 216th and an average monthly price of USD 199.00, and the British Virgin Islands, at 213th and an average monthly price of USD 179.00. Comparatively, the top 10 countries globally were:

  1. Sudan (USD 2.30)
  2. Kazakhstan (USD 5.11)
  3. Moldova (USD 7.03)
  4. Belarus (USD 7.34)
  5. Romania (USD 7.57)
  6. Ukraine (USD 7.87)
  7. Iran (USD 9.35)
  8. Nepal (USD 9.46)
  9. Egypt (USD 9.67)
  10. India (USD 10.11)

 

Results:  Price of the cheapest and most expensive plan in each country per month

In comparing the cheapest and most expensive broadband Internet plans, which are presented in Exhibit 3, it is readily evident that there is a wide disparity in the rates across the Caribbean region. It should be noted that in the case of Suriname, which is the most expensive plan, its true price is not fully reflected in the graph, as is over seven times more expensive than the second most expensive plan (at USD 2,653.95). It has thus been shaded in grey to indicate this irregularity.

 

Exhibit 3: The cheapest and most expensive fixed broadband Internet plan per month in select Caribbean countries, as of March 2023 (Source: The Cable)

 

 The greatest variation in fixed broadband Internet prices was recorded in Suriname (USD 2,629.69), the Cayman Islands (USD 397.03), and Antigua and Barbuda USD 340.44. On the other hand, the smallest variations in prices were recorded in Martinique and Saint Martin and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (USD 0.00), Guadeloupe (USD 9.40) and Caribbean Netherlands (USD 30.00), which would include Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

 

Results:  Average cost of 1 Mbps of bandwidth for one month

The average cost per Mbps continues to be the most insightful of all of the assessments conducted, as it allows for more precise comparisons of the fixed-broadband rates across the region. As reflected in Exhibit 4, the lowest average cost per Mbps was recorded in Martinique, at USD 0.04 per Mbps, which followed by Saint Martin, at USD 0.11 per Mbps, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (USD 0.18 per Mbps).

 

Exhibit 4: Price per Mbps of fixed-line broadband Internet service in select Caribbean countries, as of March 2023 (Source: The Cable)

 

 At the other end of the spectrum, the highest average cost for fixed broadband Internet was recorded in Cuba, at USD 11.78 per Mbps. Following Cuba with a relatively high average price per Mbps were: Suriname, at USD 5.31 per Mbps and Sint Maarten, at USD 5.29 per Mbps.

 

Some thoughts on the findings

Between 2022 and 2023, overall fixed broadband prices have increased across the Caribbean region. The median price across the 31 Caribbean countries surveyed is USD 74.69 in 2023, versus USD 62.58 in 2022. Further and in Exhibit 5, only 12 experienced no change in price or a price drop over the reporting periods.

 

Exhibit 5: Difference in the average price per Mbps of fixed-line broadband Internet service in select Caribbean countries, in 2022 and 2023 (Source: The Cable)

 

 The reason for the price increases across most Caribbean countries is not clear, and may merit further investigation. However, contributing factors could be inflation and the price hikes that have been experienced globally in recent years, and the higher cost of doing business across the region, all of which have been passed on to consumers.

Finally, it is important to emphasise that the prices of broadband plans are not being examined within the context of the upload and download speeds. Historically, some of the countries that were recorded to have the cheapest broadband packages do not necessarily have plans with the fastest broadband speeds. The prices offered in individual countries tend to factor in the typical income of their consumers. Hence the typical prices of a fixed-broadband plan in lower-income countries are most likely lower than in higher-income countries, with the transmission speeds available in the latter considerably faster than in the former.

 

 

Images credit: Leon Seibert (Unsplash)