Chapter 3. The ICT Price Basket Box 3.5: Both USD and PPP adjusted prices highlight the high cost of fixed-broadband services in developing countries economies. The mobile-cellular sub-basket in developed countries averaged PPP$ 31.9, compared with PPP$ 25.6 in developing countries.30 The situation is different for high-speed Internet access. First, in PPP$ terms, subscribers in developing countries pay more than those in developed countries. Second, a comparison of 2010 broadband prices shows that – in stark contrast to fixed-telephone For analytical purposes it is interesting not only to look at the affordability of ICT services but to also show and compare absolute US dollar values, as well as relative purchasing power parity (PPP) prices, which take into account the local buying power of a national currency. A comparison of the 2010 USD values shows that for both fixed-telephone and the mobile-cellular services, prices in USD values are on average higher in developed than in developing countries, reflecting lower income levels in the latter group. Fixed-broadband services, however, are on average much more expensive in developing countries – even in USD values – where the fixed-broadband sub-basket is on average more than three times as costly. Broadband prices for 2010 also stand out because they vary much more between countries, from as little as USD 4.8 in Romania to as much as USD 1 752 in Cuba. These findings suggest not only a sharp price divide in terms of broadband services but also point to the fact that broadband remains prohibitively expensive. This finding is also upheld by the comparison of PPP prices: For both fixed-telephone and mobile-cellular tariffs, developed economies have higher PPP prices, reflecting the fact that sa-laries and mobile-cellular prices – people in developing countries had to pay five times the price paid in developed countries. The relatively high price for broadband services in developing countries is further highlighted by comparing the price of the three sub-baskets with each other. In developed countries, the three sub-baskets vary between just PPP$ 22.2 and PPP$ 31.9, with mobile-cellular being the most expensive sub-basket. In developing countries, the sub-basket values vary between PPP$ 18.3 and PPP$ 144.0, with the fixed-broadband sub-basket being the most expensive sub-basket (Chart Box 3.5). At the same time, between 2008 and 2010, fixed-broadband prices in developing countries have decreased considerably, in both PPP$ and USD, and much more markedly than the other ICT services. While comparisons show that the PPP$ prices for fixed-telephone and mobile-cellular services have changed little over time, they have come down by 45.5 per cent for broadband services. This compares with a much more mode-rate are higher and products and services cost more than in developing countries. But the gap in prices between developed and developing countries is smaller than in USD terms: In 2010, the fixed-telephone sub-basket cost on average PPP$ 22.2 in developed countries, compared in PPP$ 18.3 in developing price decrease of 10.7 per cent for broadband services in developed countries. Chart Box 3.5: ICT price sub-baskets by level of development, PPP$, 2008 and 2010 2008 2010 300 300 260.6 250 250 Developed Developing Developed Developing 200 200 144.0 PPP$ PPP$ 150 150 100 100 34.2 31.2 31.9 27.9 50 28.1 18.3 25.6 50 22.2 22.0 17.0 0 0 Fixed-telephone Mobile-cellular Fixed-broadband Fixed-telephone Mobile-cellular Fixed-broadband Source: ITU. 78