The Cost of Connectivity 2014

While the market for broadband has improved in parts of the US, Europe, and Asia, the data set from the 2014 Cost of Connectivity demonstrates through several types of analysis that customers in the US still tend to pay more than their peers in Asia and Europe for comparable broadband Internet service. Our findings show that the average cost of plans in nearly every speed tier we selected is higher in the US than in Europe, and seven of the nine US cities surveyed for the report have average prices that are higher than the median for plans offered between 25 and 50 Mbps download speeds.

We found similar results when comparing the average speed of plans ranging from $35 to $50, and the average data cap for mobile broadband plans ranging from $35 to $45. Finally, regression analysis of the data suggests that most US cities lag behind European and Asian cities in our sample in terms of what consumers pay for 25 Mbps of service, and what consumers can get for $50. As in previous years, we continue to find that US municipal broadband providers offer some of the fastest speeds available in the country at relatively affordable prices. While our report presents a number of findings, we invite others to use the data for further analysis.