ITU finds broadband prices dropped 75% between 2008 and 2011
Global broadband prices fell dramatically in the three years to 2011, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
New data released in the organisation's flagship annual report, entitled Measuring the Information Society 2012, showed the average cost of fixed-line broadband services dropped by 75 per cent over the study period.
Spanning 161 economies, the report's ICT Price Basket also revealed that the price of ICT services - comprising broadband, landline and mobile phone - saw a decline of 30 per cent.
Prices in developed nations were found to have stabilised, but in emerging markets, rates continue to fall by double-digit amounts.
Brahima Sanou, director of the ITU's telecommunication development bureau, said: "The past year has seen continued and almost universal growth in ICT uptake.
"The surge in numbers of mobile broadband subscriptions in developing countries has brought the internet to a multitude of new users."
Regardless of the drop in prices, telecoms services still have a major impact on the global economy, the ITU insisted.
In 2010, revenues from the sector reached $1.5 trillion (£932 billion), representing 2.4 per cent of the world's total GDP.
