Page 5 - The affordability of ICT services 2023

The affordability of ICT services 2023

Figure 5: Data-only mobile broadband basket prices by country groups, as a percentage of GNI per
capita

10

5
Affordability target (2%)

0
Africa Americas Arab States Asia-Pacific CIS Europe World LDCs LLDCs SIDS Low Lower-middle Upper-middle High

2022 2023 Income

Note: Medians based on the 188 economies for which data was available for both years. Economies are benchmarked according to the price of an entry-
level data-only basket, defined as the cheapest data-only mobile-broadband subscription available domestically, with 3G technology or above and a
minimum monthly data allowance of 2 GB.
Source: ITU

between the two extremes narrowed between 2022 and that offer greater capacity, albeit at a staggered pace and
2023, the gap between the low-income and middle- with significant coverage gaps.
income groups has expanded, as prices in the latter group
declined faster over the same period. In 2023, at least 95 per cent of the global population
had access to a 3G mobile network and 90 per cent to
Most regions include countries from different income 4G/LTE networks. However, in low-income economies
groups, and this explains to a large extent why affordability these networks reached only 78 and 39 per cent of the
gaps are narrower across regions than across income population, respectively (see ITU Facts and Figures 2023).
groups. Europe and Africa are exceptions, since the In addition to the stark divides in the affordability of
former has a majority of high-income economies, while
the latter includes a greater number of low-income mobile data, the extra cost of larger data allowances
economies. The 2023 median price of 4.5 per cent of GNI reflects another divide, especially between low and high-
per capita in Africa was more than 12 times higher than in income economies (Figure 6). In high-income economies,
a data-only mobile-broadband basket with 10 GB
Europe, where the median price is the lowest of all regions allowance typically costs 0.7 per cent of GNI per capita. In
at 0.4 per cent (Figure 5). 6
low-income economies, this costs 26.3 per cent of GNI per
capita. With ever-more data-intensive applications, the fact
Data-only mobile broadband: The that the affordability gap is even larger for premium plans
premium for larger data allowance is a cause of concern.
In many regions, even low data allowance can be costly.
Recent experimental data collection is offering insights For instance, in SIDS and in the Americas region, the 1 GB
into the cost of extra data allowance for three similarly basket already is at the 2 per cent affordability threshold,
defined baskets with different data allowances (1, 5 and 10 although the cost for additional data is negligible. This
GB) in different markets. In high-income economies with suggests that affordability would improve if operators
more mature telecommunication markets, the cheapest offered less data at lower prices for lower-income
plan to meet the conditions for the entry-level data-only consumers.
mobile-broadband basket comes with more than the
minimum allowance of 2 GB. By contrast, operators in
lower income economies usually tailor their offers to lower Mobile cellular low-usage basket
disposable income levels by offering lower data allowance
(or limited validity periods). To meet growing demand for The mobile cellular low-usage basket gives access to the
data, operators are deploying more advanced networks most basic form of connectivity: a monthly allowance of
70 minutes and 20 text messages, which translates to just
about one two-minute call a day and a message every
6 It is also interesting to examine price level differences across country weekday. The price of this low-usage basket decreased
groups. International dollars, or United States dollars adjusted for in all regions and all income groups. Yet, in low-income
purchasing power parity (PPP), offer an established measure for economies it still amounts to 7.4 per cent of monthly
international comparability. The gaps look different in terms of PPP$.
For instance, the median basket price in 2023 was 16.2 PPP$ in high- income (Figure 7).
income economies, but 11.9 PPP$ in low-income economies. This
implies that network operators face similar fixed costs around the With the growth in smartphone ownership and the spread
world. Data is available by economy and for groups of economies in of voice and data bundles, voice- and SMS-only services
PPP$ terms in the ICT price data visualization tool.

March 2024 5