Mobile data prices compiled by Cable.co in the United Kingdom show a range of per-gigabyte prices in various markets. So we might conclude that the cost of consuming a gigabyte of mobile data ranges from about $1 per gigabyte to about $5 per gigabyte.
Mobile data prices (unadjusted for purchasing power parity) around the world are shaped by a few inputs, according to a study by Cable.co in the United Kingdom. Adjusting for PPP gives somewhat different answers. And analyzing different service plans likewise changes the results.
Comparing either the lowest-priced, highest-priced or even median-priced plans in each country does not lead to comparable results unless consumers in all countries tend to buy the same sorts of plans. While it might be quite logical to compare the “most affordable” plan in each country, that does not necessarily tell us very much about how much data “really costs for most users,” especially when “most customers” buy different plans.
Excellent 4G and 5G infrastructure; amount of substitution for fixed network access; national wealth and usage patterns tend to create low prices on one hand; high prices on the other, Cable.co suggests.
Countries with long-established, ubiquitous 4G or new 5G infrastructure tend to fall towards the cheaper end of the per-gigabyte price range.
In many such countries, mobile data plans tend to offer considerably more data than the global median, caps usually are in the hundreds of gigabytes or unlimited. The cost per gigabyte in these countries will tend therefore to be very low.
Countries with little to no fixed-line broadband availability therefore rely heavily on mobile data as a substitute. Per-gigabyte costs can be exceptionally cheap in such instances.
On the other hand, some such markets also feature either low average incomes coupled with limited usage. In such instances, per-gigabyte costs can be high.
Wealthy nations tend to have good mobile infrastructure, decently-sized data caps and high per-capita wealth and income. Per-gigabyte mobile data prices can be average to low, in such instances.
Adjusted for purchasing power parity, to remove currency differences and overall price differences between nations, data costs often are relatively similar around the world. When adjusting for purchasing power, fixed network home broadband, for example, costs between $35 and $40 a month, globally.
Mobile data prices are about in the same sort of range, with a global average of about $18 for 500 megabytes of usage, using the purchasing power parity method, in 2018.
The point is that mobile data prices globally are much more comparable globally when adjusting for differences in living costs in each country.
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