Point Topic, a UK analysis firm, released new broadband figures for worldwide use, as reported on Ars Technica. The summation: the cost of broadband access is plummeting, with a 20 percent drop in prices over the last year. And if the 20 percent decrease in price still leaves you questioning if your wallet is willing to handle it, there is currently no end in sight to the drop.
Average worldwide costs per month by users of DSL and cable connections are almost identical. However the cost per megabit has seen a widening margin with cable connections taking the lead for consumer best buy. DSL prices have seen the greatest decline in overall cost, dropping from $25 to $18 per megabyte (calculated by the maximum bandwidth use over a sustained period). At the same time, cable connections cost only $6-7 per megabit. While this study is a world wide reflection of broadband Internet access, and weighted by European operators, which offer lower prices and faster speeds than they used to, the report also shows that speeds available in the US have increased while cost has remained flat; thus the cost of access per megabit has dropped.
Huge regional variations still exist in the network access available both in the united states and abroad. Internet access is essential to many Americans but despite this trend, home access remains too expensive in many parts of the world. Countries in the Middle East and Africa, pay an average of $46 per megabit while areas of Western Europe average a mere $6 per megabit, comparable to rates in the US. DSL remains the primary delivery systems for broadband access throughout the world due to the existing infrastructure of telephone lines. In response to this world wide demand for broadband, and the lacking cable and optical infrastructures throughout the world, including parts of the US, AT&T has been boosting the speeds it delivers over phone lines to 18Mbps in the US breathing life into DSL markets despite the growth of fiber and DOCSIS 3.0 cable systems, which have far more bandwidth, and potential room for bandwidth growth.
As Internet applications grow in both the personal and business sectors, the demand for broadband access and an infrastructure to carry it will continue indefinitely in our life times. For the average home user here in the US, this means higher speed access at a slightly decreased price. However, if you're still in the market for a broadband connection the biggest factor is how you use the Internet. With prices between DSL and cable neck and neck, the only questions are availability and how much bandwidth you can use consistently. If you're into streaming video's, while carrying on a chat session, and downloading the latest release on a P2P network, cable is you only option for the cost. But for the average user, browsing the web, updating your MySpace and Facebook accounts, and spamming some friends with forwarded emails, DSL will yield the same performance. And depending on how rural your community is, DSL may be your only option with AT&T's quick fixes for boosting phone line speeds making it more economical for ISP carriers to offer DSL than invest in a cable or optical infrastructure. Only the ISP's with the highest degree of foresight will continue to expand their cable and fiber networks, and a generation from now, they will be providing all of our broadband needs.
Related Stories reported by Ars Technica:
Report: US broadband market edging towards saturation Pro-business think tank: US broadband market is peachy-keen US is #4 on Network Readiness Index—despite broadband woes Where are the broadband price wars?
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