Broadband customers in the United Kingdom have seen prices for fixed services drop over the past six months due to increased competition from mobile broadband offerings, according to a report from Analysys Mason.
The firm noted that fixed broadband prices have fallen about $6.33 during the first half of this year to $51.52 per month while overall network speeds have increased.
Martin Scott, senior analyst at Analysys Mason, noted “competition from mobile broadband services contributed to the downward pressure on fixed broadband tariffs during the first half of 2010.”
“Having said that, the premium that providers charge for mobile broadband services is also eroding,” Scott added. “Prepaid mobile broadband services with usage caps of [three gigabytes] or more (which are sufficient for light users) now undercut entry-level fixed broadband service propositions in terms of price in most Western European countries.”
Domestically, competition in the mobile broadband space has become more heated as Virgin Mobile USA yesterday unveiled a new no-contract, unlimited offering for $40 per month. (The company did note that its plans to make the offering available through its website beginning today have been put on hold for up to 24 hours as it works through some last minute activation issues.) The price undercuts virtually every other operator in the market and is one of the few to offer an “unlimited” amount of data. Most offerings top out at a five gigabyte limit before either throttling down network speeds or encountering overage charges. Virgin Mobile USA does make reference to a fair usage model in its terms of service.
At the other end of the prepaid space, Verizon Wireless unveiled an $80 per month offering that includes 5 GB of data transmission. The offering is priced at a $20 premium compared with its 5 GB contract offering.