The Cost of Connectivity 2013

In 2012, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute published The Cost of Connectivity, a first-of-its-kind study of the cost of consumer broadband services in 22 cities around the world. The results showed that, in comparison to their international peers, Americans in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC are paying higher prices for slower Internet service. While the plans and prices have been updated in the intervening year, the 2013 data shows little progress, reflecting remarkably similar trends to what we observed in 2012.

The 2013 data release includes:

• A comparison of “triple play” offerings that bundle Internet, phone, and television services;
• A comparison of the fastest Internet package available in each city;
• A survey of the best available home Internet plan for approximately $35 USD in each city;
• A survey of the best available mobile Internet plan for approximately $40 USD in each city;
• It costs more to purchase 2 GB of data in a US city than it does in any of the cities surveyed in Europe. The new data, in comparing trends from 2012 to 2013, underscores the extent to which US cities lag behind cities around the world, further emphasizing the need for policy reform. Rather than allowing American cities to fall behind, policymakers should reassess current policy approaches and implement strategies to increase competition, in turn fostering faster speeds and more affordable access.