Australian telcos charge the most for mobile broadband usage in the developed world according to new data from the OECD, which also claims the country is among the most expensive for communication services in general.
The report also delivered bad news for businesses, with new data showing the average cost for a fixed-line phone and broadband service for a small office in Australia is about $9,600, with only the Slovak and Czech Republics, Britain and Mexico more expensive.
The new Communications Outlook for 2009 report examined prices across countries for low mobile broadband usage, between 20MB and 1000MB per month, medium usage, between 2GB and 6GB and high usage, 6GB to 20GB.
“The average mobile broadband price across the 20 offers in the group is $US44 [purchasing power parity adjusted] per month. Ireland has the least expensive subscriptions at the higher data caps than other countries in the OECD at $US20 PPP per month,” the report said.
“The price in the most expensive surveyed market, Australia, has an average price of $US62 for this data range and is more than three times the price of similar connections in Ireland.”
The report found that Australia was the second-most expensive country for low-usage mobile broadband, with an average subscription price of $32 per month, above the $US30 average. The least expensive offerings were $US13 in Sweden, and the most expensive in Spain at $US33.
For medium usage, the average price is $39, with Australia and Norway the most expensive with prices over $51 per month.
The report also found Australians are paying the most for all communications services, with 2007 figures indicating average communications revenue per inhabitant to be just under $US1,927, coming up third behind Switzerland and Iceland.
Australians are also suffering the highest increases for cable broadband, the OECD reported.
“The price of the surveyed cable offer in Australia rose the most over the three years at roughly 14%, although speeds and data caps increased at the same time.”
Fixed-line broadband services ranked fourth after Poland, Austria and Mexico, with an average price of $46 per month for relatively low speeds of between 256k-2MB per second.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
