Broadband speeds and prices across the world

Every business in every country has a different broadband experience.

High-speed broadband is important for any business and is essential for efficient daily operations. So, we thought it’d be interesting to compare download speeds and broadband prices across the globe.

Data from 3,351 individual broadband packages were gathered by BDRC Continental and Cable.co.uk during an eight-week period in 2017. The data shows the cheapest and most expensive packages.

In a previous report, 63m broadband speed tests were carried out to rank nearly 200 countries by the average internet speed they offer.

We look at which countries benefit from the best internet at the best prices. We also look at where you, as a business, would suffer from the poorest connection and most expensive prices in the world.

South Korea: the fastest broadband at the lowest price

South Korea has access to three major internet providers, and the average customer pays just £20.23 a month for an average download speed of 22.9Mbps.

In the 90s, the South Korean government pushed to provide fast and affordable internet to the private sector, and it formed an excessive national plan to achieve this goal.

The country now leads in the number of DSL connections per head worldwide.

Yemen: the slowest connection in the world

Yemen has the slowest download speed in the world at only 1.3Mbps on average.

The Middle Eastern country’s telecommunication technology hasn’t been updated since 1970. The outdated system wasn’t designed for fast data transfers, so it’s struggling to keep up with current advances. Unfortunately, for companies based in Yemen, there is no plan to maintain the technology – a bleak outlook for businesses which need the internet.

The country ranks 22nd in the world for price, paying the reasonable average price of £16.39 per month.

It’s questionable whether they should have to pay anything at all for such poor connection.

Singapore: the fastest connection in the world

Singapore tops the table with internet download speeds of 55.13Mbps.

Companies in the Asian city-state can benefit from seamless connections and superfast data downloads. To put the speeds available in context, downloading an HD movie the size of 7.5GB would only take 18 minutes and 34 seconds, while it would take over two days in Yemen.

Singaporean companies pay the price for the fastest download speeds in the world, at an average price of £28.75 per month. The country is also rocketing in forward in terms of technology and growth due to their forward-thinking attitude.

Maintaining such a fast connection to the internet offers opportunities for the city-state in comparison to countries which aren’t so well connected.

Iran: the cheapest broadband

Iran has the cheapest internet in the world at an average of £4.10 per month.

The low price is due to the country having one of the lowest-value currencies in the world, which it also uses to sell broadband. This is unusual, as countries with volatile currencies will often use US dollars

Nearly all cafes and shopping centres in the capital, Tehran, offer free wi-fi to customers, as it’s so cheap to keep the Iranians connected.

They may have the cheapest broadband, but the speed averages only 1.56Mpbs.

African countries: the most expensive broadband

According to data formed by BDRC Continental, businesses located in Africa pay more for their broadband than anywhere else in the world.

The reason? There is a huge deficiency of cabling across the African continent.

Burkina Faso is the country which pays most for their broadband in the world, as expensive as £727.80 per month. The country has a population of 18 million, but fewer than 10% have access to the internet.

The infrastructure cannot support superfast broadband, and sub-Saharan countries produce very few technology professionals. Plus there are no current technology investment strategies set out by the government

What about the UK?

The UK ranks the 62nd in the world for broadband price and 31st for speed.

The internet currently runs on a fibre-to-cabinet system. The reliance on copper wires slows down the overall speed. Only those within a 1km radius of a cabinet will experience superfast broadband. It’s, therefore, businesses located in rural areas which suffer the most from poor connection speeds.

Relatively speaking, the UK is in a good position in terms of broadband speed and price compared to other countries worldwide.

However, British businesses pay an average of £30.70 per month for their broadband. This is more than Singapore, which receives a faster download speed of 22.9Mbps, 39% faster than the average download speed in the UK.

With broadband development on the horizon, it’s hopeful businesses will have use of better connectivity in the future.

We provide businesses with superfast broadband at competitive prices across the UK. Contact us today to improve your connection.