Where Can You Get the Cheapest Mobile Internet?

It’s reported that around 5.48 billion people around the world use a mobile phone and that number is set to rise to over 7 billion in the next few years. With so many people using a mobile phone, more and more people are looking for cheap mobile internet.

Using data from Statista, we look into some of the cheapest countries to get mobile data around the world, and the factors that help to contribute to the low prices.

Israel has the cheapest mobile internet in the world, with 1GB of data costing, on average, $0.04. There are a few factors that help Israel to provide the cheapest mobile data. One is that the Government worked to break the monopoly of larger telecommunication companies, so smaller companies were able to share towers. This meant that competition between providers increased, with companies offering lower prices to attract customers. 

Around 3 out of 4 people in Israel own a smartphone, which is a higher number than even the USA. It’s thought that such a high percentage of people using a mobile phone has contributed to the lower cost of mobile data.

Italy is the second cheapest country to get mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing around $0.12. Italy has a great infrastructure for mobile data and around 95% of people in Italy have access to 5G. The country brought in strict regulations to avoid price gauging by telecommunication providers. Similar to Israel, smaller companies can share the networks of larger companies, allowing for more competition between businesses and so lower costs for the user.

India has the third cheapest mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing around $0.17. It’s thought that the low prices are due to competition between providers. Jio, a relatively new provider in India, initially picked up 100 million customers in the first six months after launching, with a free trial offer. It became the third-largest telecom provider in India after just two years. This caused the older providers to lower their costs to attract customers back.

It’s believed that the current low prices aren’t sustainable and will rise in the future. For now, though, India retains some of the cheapest mobile data in the world.

France has the fourth cheapest mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing around $0.23. France has four main mobile data providers and a number of smaller companies. All provide similar coverage, operating from their own infrastructure. This might account for the low prices – with all companies offering a similar service, users will look to price to find the best provider.

China has the fifth cheapest mobile internet, costing $0.41 for 1GB of data. China has a robust infrastructure for mobile internet, connecting even rural villages with 4G that’s fast and reliable. The large majority of global 5G users are in China and there has been significant moves to integrate 5G with the various industries that work across China.

It’s thought that having the ability to make many of the telecommunications equipment within China has help to reduce the costs of mobile data, with savings being passed on to the user. Another factor that contributes to the lower cost is that there are three main providers in China who all offer a similar coverage – like France, one of the only ways to attract customers is to offer lower costs.

Spain is the sixth cheapest country to get mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing $0.60. There are four main mobile providers in Spain and a number of smaller operators that share the networks of the larger companies. This helps to drive down costs by increasing the competition between providers.

However, there can also be a difference in coverage between providers. It’s thought that Orange and Movistar provides the best coverage and fastest speeds, which means these providers can use speeds as an incentive to customers instead of low price.

Nigeria has the seventh cheapest mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing $0.70. Nigeria has the biggest mobile market in Africa and as more people become mobile users, providers are decreasing their prices to attract new customers.

There has recently been a shift from call packages to data packages, which has seen the prices for mobile internet drop across the country. The Nigerian Communications Commission also recently removed a data floor price, which meant providers could choose their own lowest price that they could offer.

Brazil has the eighth cheapest mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing $0.74. Over the past few years, mobile provers in Brazil have worked to reduce prices, a project that has been backed by the Brazilian government.

However, it’s thought that as the prices have decreased, so has the quality and coverage. Even large cities such as São Paulo are said to have lower-quality of mobile data than in similar sized cities in other parts of the world. But steps are being taken to improve speeds and mobile internet offerings, with plans to make 5g more accessible across the country.

The UK has the ninth cheapest mobile internet, with 1GB of data costing $0.79. There are many mobile providers in the UK, which has led to high competition between companies. There has been large investment into increasing network speeds and expanding connectivity. This, combined with lower costs, have all been used to attract new customers.

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