Page 24 - Measuring digital development The affordability of ICT services 2024

The affordability of ICT services

Figure 14: Median advertised download speeds for entry-level fixed-broadband
baskets for income- and special groups and regions (Mbit/s)

100 100 100 100
100
High
income
80 World 80 Europe
Americas
60 SIDS 60 Asia-Pacific
Arab States
Low- and CIS
40 middle 40
income Africa
30
LLDCs 25
20 20 20
10 LDCs 7
5 5
0 4 0 4
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Note: Medians based on available data for 2019-2024 on advertised speed for the plans used for the basket�
Source: ITU
Median advertised download speeds lagging far behind Europe and the Americas
increased as well, from 5 Mbit/s in 2019 to (Figure 14).
30 Mbit/s by 2024. In just the last three years,
the number of economies with over 100 Although the fixed-broadband basket
Mbit/s speed grew from 36 to 64, the typical definition requires a monthly allowance of at
speed for high-income economies since 2022. least 5 GB of data a month in the selected plan,
However, progress remains uneven and the this threshold is exceeded almost everywhere.
gap between high-income economies and the In fact, in 142 economies, the plan used for
rest remains wide. The typical speed in one in this basket included unlimited data allowance.
two low- and middle-income economies (55) This reflects a broader trend in which Internet
did not exceed 10 Mbit/s in 2024, a threshold service providers (ISPs) now differentiate fixed-
which hampers meaningful connectivity. broadband offerings by speed rather than
Regional variation also remains significant, data allowance.
with the Arab States, CIS and Africa regions

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