{"id":131226,"date":"2018-05-25T07:01:18","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T12:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=131226"},"modified":"2018-05-27T14:28:36","modified_gmt":"2018-05-27T19:28:36","slug":"snapshot-2018-update-internet-speeds-pricing-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2018\/05\/snapshot-2018-update-internet-speeds-pricing-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapshot: 2018 update of Internet speeds and pricing across the Caribbean"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 2018 update of fixed Internet broadband speeds and pricing across the Caribbean.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We are continuing our efforts to track the changes that have occurred with respect to fixed Internet broadband speeds and pricing across the Caribbean.\u00a0 In this Snapshot, we summarise our findings and briefly share some of the observations we have made.<\/p>\n

Methodology<\/h3>\n
\"\"

Table 1: 2018 list of ISPs examined (Source: ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The offerings from the ISPs varied drastically in respect of transmission speeds and rates, hence the exercise was limited to identifying (per country):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. the lowest advertised download speed and the corresponding lowest monthly rate<\/li>\n
  2. the highest advertised download speed and the corresponding lowest monthly rate, and<\/li>\n
  3. the highest download speed plan that can be purchased for no more than USD\u00a060.00 per month.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    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\u00a0Mbps threshold; we have thus abandoned examination of that metric.<\/p>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    2018 broadband Internet speed and prices<\/h3>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    \"\"

    Table 2: Lowest and highest advertised download speeds and the corresponding best rates in select Caribbean countries as at May 2018 (Source: ISP websites)<\/p><\/div>\n

    In only four of the 18 countries examined \u2013 Belize, Cayman Islands, Guyana and Jamaica \u2013 were there plans where the advertised download speed was under 2\u00a0Mbps. In around two-thirds of the countries, ISPs are offering customers Internet plans with advertised download speeds of at least 100\u00a0Mbps, with the ISPs in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago offering residential customers plans with an advertised download speed of up to 1\u00a0Gigabit per second (Gbps).<\/p>\n

    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\u00a060.00 per month. The results are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2.<\/p>\n

    \"\"

    Figure 1: Fastest Internet plan by advertised download speed for under USD\u00a060.00 in select Caribbean countries as of May 2018 (Source: ISP websites)<\/p><\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"

    Figure 2: Fastest Internet plan by advertised download speed for under USD\u00a060.00 and the corresponding monthly rate in select Caribbean countries as of May 2018 (Source: ISP websites)<\/p><\/div>\n

    Although not shown in Figure 3, the fastest plan was found in Barbados, where for USD\u00a060.00 per month a plan with an advertised download speed of up to 240\u00a0Mbps can be secured. The next fastest plans, 100\u00a0Mbps and 75 Mbps, were found in the Aruba (also not shown in Figure 3) and Trinidad and Tobago, at approximately USD\u00a055.30 and USD\u00a059.26, respectively.<\/p>\n

    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\u00a0Mbps, were recorded in Belize and Dominica, with a monthly rate of approximately USD\u00a041.79 and USD\u00a027.83, respectively.<\/p>\n

    How do this year\u2019s results compare with those from 2017?<\/h3>\n

    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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

    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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Image credit:\u00a0\u00a0Mediamodifier (Pixabay<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[291,311,281,61,15],"class_list":["post-131226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ict-tech","tag-broadband","tag-broadband-speed","tag-internet","tag-snapshot-series","tag-trends","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/graph-decline-downward-Mediamodifier-Pixabay.png?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-y8y","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131226"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131259,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131226\/revisions\/131259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}