According to a new survey from ABI Research, 73% of countries with 4G mobile services have seen the ‘price per megabyte’ of 4G data fall by an average of 30% in the past six months.
The lowest price for 4G data is currently in India, while the highest price - $67.80 (£43) for 5GB - is in the UAE. However, the report notes that tariffs often change: last year’s lowest price could be found in Singapore; this year the tariff cost has remained at the same level yet data allowances have been reduced.
In the USA, most network operators are reported to have introduced larger data allowances while keeping the monthly cost unchanged - but Australia, Sweden, Japan and Saudi Arabia saw monthly costs reduced and data allowances unchanged.
Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting at ABI Research, said “ABI Research is concerned that a number of operators have introduced 4G pricing plans at the same, or even lower, price points than 3G. In Norway, Telenor has introduced 4G tariffs that are cheaper than 3G. 4G is more spectrally efficient and can handle a lot of data but it’s important carriers take advantage of 4G to boost service revenues.”
[Report]