n00bz0r
06-06-2009, 02:11 AM
http://static.arstechnica.com/2009/03/13/fiber-cable.jpg
The monthly cost of Internet access has dropped regularly for years, but the big price reductions might now be behind us. New data from Point Topic shows that prices for fiber, cable, and DSL connections have remained essentially flat since September 2007.
The worldwide price paid per megabit has been dropping over the last year when prices are translated directly into US dollars. Some of these drops have been impressive, too: fiber's price per megabit has dropped 20 percent, cable's has fallen 30 percent, and DSL's has declined by 37.5 percent.
http://static.arstechnica.com/2009/06/05/point_topic_ppp_graph.png
But when the total monthly bill for Internet access is graphed in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), there's been no dropoff at all. PPP is a widely used method of assessing differences in buying power between different economies. When PPP is used to measure worldwide Internet access rates, the graph at the left is the result.
So Internet access isn't getting cheaper when measured against people's purchasing power. Point Topic suggests that's because the Internet market is much closer to saturation in many economies, so the easy gains are now gone.
"Since the start of 2008 the watchword seems to have been consolidation. Even before the credit crunch many operators, particularly those offering DSL, were trying to stabilise their business models as their markets moved on to a phase where rapid growth could no longer be counted on to cover holes in their balance sheets," said Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst at Point Topic.
DSL remains the cheapest technology, but not by much. Cable is slightly more expensive, and fiber is more expensive still, but it's not as bad as you might think. Point Topic's data says that the average monthly charge for fiber at PPP rates is $35—though try getting a fiber connection for $35 in North America and see how well that works.
The data highlights the fact that while Internet access in the US works well, it's not especially cheap or fast by worldwide standards. In Japan, for instance, "various flavours of fiber today account for over 50 percent of the access market, a dominant position achieved in 5 years at the expense primarily of DSL," says Vanier.
ArsTechnica (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/internet-access-gets-faster-but-not-cheaper.ars)
The monthly cost of Internet access has dropped regularly for years, but the big price reductions might now be behind us. New data from Point Topic shows that prices for fiber, cable, and DSL connections have remained essentially flat since September 2007.
The worldwide price paid per megabit has been dropping over the last year when prices are translated directly into US dollars. Some of these drops have been impressive, too: fiber's price per megabit has dropped 20 percent, cable's has fallen 30 percent, and DSL's has declined by 37.5 percent.
http://static.arstechnica.com/2009/06/05/point_topic_ppp_graph.png
But when the total monthly bill for Internet access is graphed in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), there's been no dropoff at all. PPP is a widely used method of assessing differences in buying power between different economies. When PPP is used to measure worldwide Internet access rates, the graph at the left is the result.
So Internet access isn't getting cheaper when measured against people's purchasing power. Point Topic suggests that's because the Internet market is much closer to saturation in many economies, so the easy gains are now gone.
"Since the start of 2008 the watchword seems to have been consolidation. Even before the credit crunch many operators, particularly those offering DSL, were trying to stabilise their business models as their markets moved on to a phase where rapid growth could no longer be counted on to cover holes in their balance sheets," said Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst at Point Topic.
DSL remains the cheapest technology, but not by much. Cable is slightly more expensive, and fiber is more expensive still, but it's not as bad as you might think. Point Topic's data says that the average monthly charge for fiber at PPP rates is $35—though try getting a fiber connection for $35 in North America and see how well that works.
The data highlights the fact that while Internet access in the US works well, it's not especially cheap or fast by worldwide standards. In Japan, for instance, "various flavours of fiber today account for over 50 percent of the access market, a dominant position achieved in 5 years at the expense primarily of DSL," says Vanier.
ArsTechnica (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/internet-access-gets-faster-but-not-cheaper.ars)