India’s Mobile Data Plans Cheapest in the World at $0.09/GB: Report
Aug. 25, 2020UK-based firm Cable.co.uk recently conducted a study by analyzing data from 5,554 mobile data plans across 228 countries between February 3 and February 25 to find the average cost of 1GB data. The study found thatmobile data plans in India are the cheapest of the 228 countries.
“As a country whose young population has a particularly high technological awareness, India offers a vibrant smartphone market, with strong adoption and many competitors. Data, therefore, is quite staggeringly cheap,”Cable.co.uk consumer telecoms analyst Dan Howdle told TOI.
Cable.co.uk found that the five most expensive countries for 1GB of data are São Tomé and Príncipe ($28.26), Bermuda ($28.75), Nauru ($30.47), Falkland Islands ($40.41) and Saint Helena ($52.50). The primary reason for such high prices is because all these are island nations. On the other hand, the cheapest offerings are found in India ($0.09), Israel ($0.11), Kyrgyzstan ($0.21), Italy ($0.43), and Ukraine ($0.46).
While these numbers portray an abstract idea of the internet cost, there are various external factors that influence these metrics such as the per capita income and the rate of currency inflation in these countries.
India’s affordable mobile data can be largely attributed toReliance Jioand its affordable calling and internet plans that forced the entire Indian telecom industry to adopt more competitive pricing to keep up.
Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
