Laos ranks 72nd in global mobile data pricing survey; highest internet cost in South-East Asia

Image from Laotian Times

VIENTIANE, July 31: Laos has one of the highest internet costs in South-East Asia, ranking 72nd in the world and eighth among Asean nations, according to a new study, reports Laotian Times.

Cable.co.uk collected and analysed data from 5,292 individual broadband packages in 233 countries over a four-month period beginning in March and ending in June this year.

The study found that Israel offers the world’s cheapest mobile data, with an average cost of US$0.04 per one gigabyte (1GB). Saint Helena is the most expensive, with an average package price of US$41.06 per gigabyte.

Asian nations make up a third of the top 20 cheapest countries for mobile data, with both India (US$0.17) and Nepal (US$0.27) in the top ten.

Only three Asian countries are more expensive than the global average of US$3.12 with Japan (US$3.85), British Indian Ocean Territory (US$5.00) and South Korea, the most expensive in the region at US$12.55.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand boasts the cheapest mobile data at just US$0.38 per gigabyte. Cambodia takes second place, with Malaysia and Indonesia close behind.

The Philippines averages US$0.52 per gigabyte, while Vietnam and Singapore have similar pricing around the 60-cent mark.

Laos takes 8th position among Asean nations, with an average mobile data rate of LAK 15,000 per gigabyte, equalling approximately US$0.99 at official exchange rates.

Myanmar follows Laos at US$1.11 per gigabyte, while users in Timor Leste are charged the most, with the average cost at US$2.16 per gigabyte.

In previous reports, Cable.co.uk analyzed more than a billion broadband speed tests to rank 224 countries by average internet speed, and revealed the cost of getting online in 220 countries.

Cable.co.uk also analysed the cost of electricity tariffs in 230 countries.