Page 13 - Measuring digital development The affordability of ICT services 2024

The affordability of ICT services

Figure 4: Progress towards the Broadband Commission affordability target:
distribution of basket prices (number of economies)

Mobile broadband Fixed broadband

138 2% target 2023 2023
127 achieved 2% target
2024 achieved 2024
LDCs LDCs

78 78

54 55
46
38
29
25 25 24 20
14 18 18
5 5 5 2
<=2% 2-5% 5-10% 10-20% >20% <=2% 2-5% 5-10% 10-20% >20%
Basket price (as a % of GNI per capita) Basket price (as a % of GNI per capita)

Note: The two charts show the distribution of economies by affordability for 2023 and 2024, defined by the
price of the data-only mobile-broadband and fixed-broadband baskets as a percentage of monthly GNI per
capita� The LDC component for each year is shown hatched with lines� Only those economies that had basket
data available for 2023 and 2024 for mobile broadband (208 economies) and fixed broadband (194 economies)
are considered�
Source: ITU

Progress towards the Broadband Fixed-broadband subscriptions are typically
Commission target shared by multiple members of a household,
whereas an entry-level data-only mobile-
Assessing the progress of individual countries broadband subscription generally gives
towards the 2 per cent affordability target access to only one person, and an assessment
for 2025 reveals a mixed situation. Although of the affordability of the two baskets may
more countries met the target for the lowest therefore differ as households may have more
benchmark (data-only mobile-broadband than one member with income and can share
basket) in 2024, one-third did not, and many costs. Nevertheless, when applying the same
will fall short by the time the deadline expires. 2 per cent threshold for the more costly fixed-
broadband basket, of the 194 economies for
In 2024, for the data-only mobile-broadband which data are available, only 78 economies
basket, a record 138 of the 208 economies – or 40 per cent – met the 2 per cent target,
for which data were available met this target, the same count as in 2023. For 32 economies,
up from 127 in 2023 (Figure 4). The situation the cost exceeded 10 per cent. Among the 30
was most difficult in LDCs: in 2024, only 7 of LDCs with available data, only Bangladesh met
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45 LDCs met the 2 per cent target for mobile the target.
broadband, three more than in 2023. For three
LDCs, the cost still exceeded 10 per cent.

4 For the list of LDCs, see https:// www .un .org/ ohrlls/
content/ list -ldcs. For this publication, Sao Tome
and Principe, which graduated from LDC status in
December 2024 – after the price data collection
finished – is still included.

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