Thanks to the Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio network, Indian consumers now enjoy the cheapest mobile data globally with 1GB costing Rs 18.5 as compared to the global average of Rs 600 per GB, said a study by price comparison site Cable.co.uk.
The study that compared mobile data charges in 230 countries claimed that average price of $0.26 for one gigabyte (GB) in India compares to $6.66 in the UK and $12.37 for the same amount of data in the US. However, the global average stood at $8.53 for 1GB.
India which now has over 430 million smartphone users, is also the second largest smartphone market in the world after China and offers a competitive smartphone market resulting in cheap mobile data charges.
In 2016, Ambani disrupted the Indian telecom space with the launch of Jio 4G phone service. Since its inception, over 280 million customers has registered for Jio that offers free domestic voice calls, affordable data packs and virtually free smartphones. The impact of Jio is such that many competitors have not drastically reduced prices of data packs to sustain the loyal fan base.
We compared data from 6,313 mobile data plans in 230 countries between October 23 and November 28, 2018, said the price comparison website.
For the Indian market, researchers at the company analysed 57 plans and discovered that 1GB of data costs just Rs 1.75 ($0.02) in the country and maximum it goes for Rs 99.9 ($1.4).
India is followed by Kyrgyzstan where 1GB mobile data costs $0.27, Kazakstan ($0.49) and Ukraine ($ 0.51). The study further revealed Zimbabwe as the most expensive country where average cost of 1GB data stood at $75.20.
While Africa has both the cheapest and high-priced mobile data rates, Rwanda, Sudan and Congo offered data for less than $1. Both Equatorial Guinea and Saint Helena charge more than $50 for 1GB. In China, 1GB of mobile data costs $9.89 on average. In Sri Lanka it costs $0.87, in Bangladesh $0.99 and in Pakistan, 1GB mobile data is available for $1.85.
