As a sequel to the 2013 study, Infrapont prepared a comprehensive quantitative analysis of large screen mobile broadband prices in the European Union for 2014. The research was conducted in March 2014 and covers all publicly advertised post-paid contracts offered to residential customers in the 27 European member states, totaling 331 publicly available offers made by 90 European mobile network operators.
The main focus of the study is to present a detailed analysis of price levels and the relative position of European countries with respect to these prices. Comparison occur by using representative baskets for different consumption patterns based on the analysis of the main features of European mobile operators’ large screen mobile broadband offers. The study shows the results of simple basket price comparisons based on both the lowest and the average prices on each national market. Then the Large Screen Mobile Broadband Price Index, developed by Infrapont is introduced, based on the representative baskets’ prices which provide a sound basis for cross-country comparisons. Finally, the results of an econometric analysis examining the relationships between the price levels and several other key factors are presented.
The analysis shows that differences in large screen mobile broadband prices cannot be explained by a single factor, especially not by structural measures of mobile broadband market, like the number or presence of special types of operators. Differences in economic development (macroeconomic indicators) and technological characteristics of mobile markets can have a larger explanatory power in understanding price differences. This study also reveals that simplistic analyses failing to control for these other factors may lead to misleading interpretations and hence wrong policy conclusions.
The abstract of the study with purchase information is available for download at the following link:
Abstract of the 2014 Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report
The 2013 study is available for download at the following link:
2013 Large Screen Mobile Broadband Report