The second quarter saw the average worldwide price for DSL entry-level services fall by 9.3 percent, the biggest price cut in DSL services in almost four years, according to Point Topic Research.
The firm notes that prices have experienced a “fairly gentle downward curve” of about 2.5 percent a quarter for the year leading up to second quarter, so to be up above 9 percent is remarkable, Point Topic says.
The analysis is taken from the latest research by Point Topic on global broadband tariff benchmarks which tracks 18 representative DSL operators from around the world. Some operators have cut prices by 50 percent and others offer big upgrades in entry-level speeds, the firm notes.
Subscriptions for cable broadband services are dropping in price as well, but not as fast. On average a cable modem subscription is US$4.27 per month more expensive than a DSL account, Point Topic says.
Perhaps more worrying for cable companies though is the price of a fiber-to-the-home subscription in Japan. Some operators offer 100Mbps for $25.90 per month, which is lower than the worldwide average for broadband over cable modem, according to Point Topic.