Page 11 - Measuring digital development The affordability of ICT services 2024

The affordability of ICT services

In 2018, the Broadband Commission for recorded a large drop to reach 3.2 per cent of
Sustainable Development set seven "ambitious GNI per capita.
but achievable" targets, including one that
states that by 2025, entry-level broadband In the Arab States and the Asia and the
services should be made affordable in Pacific regions, the affordability of all baskets
developing countries, at less than 2 per cent of improved. The mobile baskets were all below
GNI per capita. This target represents a useful 2 per cent, while the fixed-broadband basket
benchmark when assessing the affordability in both regions remained above this target.
for a region. Of course, a median price below In the Commonwealth of Independent States
2 per cent in a region does not mean that (CIS) region, the cost of the fixed-broadband
every country in that region has met the target. basket for consumers as a percentage of GNI
Indeed, a median price of 2 per cent means per capita declined in 2024, following a sharp
that the price in half of the countries is above increase in 2023. This basket was still above
3
2 per cent.
the 2 per cent target, while the four mobile
The global median for both mobile-broadband baskets were between 0.7 and 1.2 per cent
baskets including at least 2 GB data was below of GNI per capita, even if affordability of the
the 2 per cent target. The most expensive mobile data and voice low-consumption
mobile basket – mobile data and voice high- basket and the mobile cellular low-usage
consumption – fell below the target for the first basket decreased slightly.
time in 2024. In contrast, the global median Finally, the Europe region is the only one
of the fixed-broadband basket price stood at where all baskets were well below the 2 per
2.5 per cent.
cent target. The fixed-broadband basket stood
at 1.1 per cent of GNI per capita in 2024, up by
Affordability improved across all baskets in
all ITU regions, with a few exceptions. Africa 0.1 percentage point from the previous year.
recorded the greatest gains, but the cost of The four mobile baskets cost less than 0.5 per
all mobile baskets for consumers still ranged cent of GNI per capita.
between 3 and 7 per cent of average income, When the Broadband Commission targets
while fixed broadband remained high at 14 were established, it was still common to refer
per cent.
to developing and developed countries.
In the Americas, the mobile data and voice In recent years, however, this practice has
high-consumption basket became more been abandoned. Instead, countries can be
expensive in 2024 and remained above 2 per grouped according to their income level,
cent. The other three baskets became more which also improves the analysis of social and
affordable and cost now all less than 2 per economic data.
cent. The price of the fixed-broadband basket

3 With the CIS region consisting of only nine
countries, median scores for the region can be
more volatile than those for regions with (many)
more countries.

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