India has been placed in fifth place on the Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing 2022 list. It is a part of a report that has measured the cost of 1GB of mobile data in 233 countries. The list was topped by Israel at the least expensive price of $0.04 (roughly Rs. 3) per GB. On the other hand, Saint Helena — a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean — was the most expensive with a cost of $41.06 (roughly Rs. 3,500). Furthermore, Northern America was listed as the priciest region in the world averaging around $4.98 (roughly Rs. 400).
The Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing 2022 list was compiled by Cable.co.uk, which is a price comparison site. It claims that Israel, Italy, San Marino, Fiji, and India, in this order, are the top five cheapest countries to pay for mobile data. As previously mentioned, India comes fifth, with a cost of $0.17 (roughly Rs. 14).
The report suggests that India’s population greatly relies on mobile data, and that this has supposedly created high demand, forcing providers to offer competitive prices. On the flip side, Israel has been supposedly a global leader concerning 5G technology and holds its position at the top when it comes to pricing as well.
According to the list, Saint Helena, the Falkland Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tokelau, and Yemen are the five most expensive countries to purchase mobile data. Notably, four of the five are island nations and two are located in the Sub-Saharan African region.
Sub-Saharan Africa is also the second most expensive among the 13 global regions of the world with an average cost of $4.47 (roughly Rs. 400). Northern America is the most expensive and Northern Africa is the cheapest with an average of $1.05 (roughly Rs. 80).
The researchers have reportedly attributed the difference in cost to four main country archetypes — Excellent infrastructure, Heavy reliance, Small consumption, and a Wealthy economy. They note that the cheapest countries roughly fall under the excellent infrastructure or heavy reliance archetypes. Whereas, the most expensive countries tend to have small consumption and terrible infrastructure. Finally, the data pricing of wealthy economies tends to tilt towards global averages.
