Measuring digital development: ICT price trends 2020 presents, analyses and compares the retail price of ICT services for more than 200 economies, providing a unique insight into the state of ICT affordability around the world. The report provides analysis in terms of dollar price, exchange-rate adjusted prices and affordability for mobile-voice, mobile and fixed broadband according to internationally agreed baskets for services, including bundled services. It also provides information on countries' progress towards achieving the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development's target for 2025, according to which entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries at a level corresponding to less than 2 per cent of monthly GNI per capita.
The report finds that although ICT services continue to become more affordable worldwide, in the least developed countries broadband services remain a luxury, affordable only to the most affluent. Furthermore, even where the 2 per cent target has been met for a country as a whole, entry-level broadband services often remain unaffordable for the less affluent. Data shows that the 40 per cent of the population with the lowest income could only afford entry-level mobile broadband services in 10 of the 66 developing countries for which data are available. Finally, data suggests that the maturity of the regulatory environment has a strong bearing on ICT price levels.
