Although the internet is available in almost every country around the globe subscription costs, internet speeds, and average salaries wildly differ. And some countries are getting a much better deal than others.
It might be a lifeline for many of us, but affordable broadband access depends on where you are and who you are. Cheap internet is one thing, but broadband needs to be affordable. ‘Cheap’ may not be enough to get you online if your wage is disproportionately low.
Chicago, IL-based financial funding provider NetCredit has worked out the average monthly wage around the world and used Cable.co.uk’s worldwide broadband price research to compare wages against the cost of a fixed-line broadband package in each location.
So which countries are getting the best – and worst deals on their broadband?
Yemen has the least affordable broadband deal in the world. A subscription costs US$2,466.67, which is 2792.56% of the average $88.33 pay check. At the other end of the spectrum, Monaco has the most affordable broadband. A deal costs $34.49, or 0.0068% of the average $5,043.69 monthly wage.
Accessing the internet in Turkmenistan will cost you $3047.52 per month which is 1043.08% of average monthly income. Yet in neighbouring Kazakhstan you can get internet for $22.15 per month – 4.17% of your monthly income.
In the US the average cost of a 10Mbps broadband line is $7.01 per month which is 0.16% of the average monthly wage of just over $4000.
However, if you lived in Haiti, Honduras or Nicaragua internet would cost you $216.42, $101.16 and $84.97 respectively – quite a lot when salaries there are in the low three figures per month
Developing countries with wages of around $150/month or less and broadband deals in the hundreds are suffering.
Timor Leste with average wages of $108.33 would not even cover a fifth of the cost of a 10Mbps broadband package. In Timor Leste if a 10Mbps were even available it would cost $640.70 or 591.43% the average monthly income.
For some, access to the internet is not enough – they need fast broadband – especially if they are gamers, or video streaming or movie downloads.
NetCredit also worked out the high speed internet prices and compared them against download speeds to work how how much 10Mbps would cost in each country.
Romania has the world’s cheapest internet when measured against speed costing $0.13 per Mbps. In Yemen, it will cost you 3,768.65 per Mbps.
Fast and affordable broadband for many across the world – is still an unreachable goal as governments continue to struggle providing the hardware and infrastructure to make access a reality for many.
Consider yourself lucky that you live in an affordable area – with decent broadband speeds and low-ish costs.
