PH Among Countries with the Most Expensive Internet

Just 20 years ago, only 4.1% of the world’s population had access to the internet. In 2019, there are over 4.5 billion active internet users, which makes up 58.8% of people on Earth.

The pivotal role of internet in modern life is emphasized by the United Nations which issued a resolution claiming that access to the internet is one of the basic human rights and calling on Member States to prevent the digital divide.

How expensive is the internet nowadays? Where is surfing the net the cheapest? In which countries is super-fast internet easy accessible? And is the internet in the Philippines inexpensive? Picodi.com analysts looked into pricing of 233 biggest fiber internet providers in 62 countries and answered these questions.

Please note that the compilation only includes unlimited residential internet plans, without television or phone bundles.

100 Mbps ought to be enough for anybody

The comfort of using the internet depends on many factors. Among them, there is a nominal speed, the network’s technology, a wireless interference, network load, but also quality of the visited website and the distance to its hosting server location.

According to Speedtest.net, the global average speed of broadband internet amounts to 70 Mbps (December 2019). On the other hand, 100 Mbps is the speed offered most frequently in the majority of countries — 55 out of 62. Today, such speed allows for smooth web browsing on several devices at the same time and watching streaming services in the highest 4K resolution (UHD).

Oddly enough, in some countries, such as Poland, Romania, France or Singapore, major internet providers do not offer such a “low” speed. In Poland and Romania, the lowest plan available is 150 Mbps, in France — 200 Mbps, and in Singapore — 500 Mbps. On the other hand, in countries like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Vietnam, the 100 Mbps speed is not yet widely available.

Among the considered countries, the biggest price for 100 Mbps internet was noted in South Africa — $87 a month. People living in northern countries, like Iceland or Norway, pay around $69 a month. In the Philippines, the prices are slightly more affordable — around $56 a month.

100 Mbps speed is the cheapest in Eastern European countries like Moldova ($10/month), Russia ($8/month) and Ukraine ($6/month).