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Snapshot: Internet speeds and prices in the Caribbean
Caribbean ISPS included in this SnapSHot
The Caribbean has had some semblance of publicly available Internet service for about two decades, but in recent times it has become a key platform for the delivery of a broad range of telecoms and computing services and applications. Critical considerations when assessing the Internet’s effectiveness as a medium of connectivity are transmission speeds and the prices charged for its use. This snapshot examines those two factors across the English-speaking Caribbean, since they speak to the region’s ability to harness the potential of the Internet and to create knowledge-based societies.
Data for this review was collected from the websites of widely used Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the region. At least two ISPs were examined in each country where present (Table 1), and the exercise was limited to non-dialup Internet services and to service plans for domestic/residential customers. The offerings from the ISPs varied drastically in terms of transmission speeds, hence the exercise was limited to identifying (per country):
* the lowest download speed available and the corresponding monthly rate
* the highest download speed available and the corresponding monthly rate
* the monthly rate for a 2 Mbps (Megabits per second) service plan
It is emphasised that the review focused on the monthly rates payable for specified Internet plans only. The exercise excluded initial subscription and activation fees, as well as any additional monthly service charges that might be payable, but included sales taxes (GST, VAT, GCT, etc) when applicable. The rates were converted from the local currency to United States Dollars (USD) using current commercial exchange rates.
Under International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standards, between 1.5 and 2 Mbps is considered the threshold speed for classifying an Internet service as broadband. Hence 2 Mbps has been used as a baseline reference to compare rates across the countries under review.
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Michele Marius is an ICT/Telecoms Consultant. She has decade-plus experience in telecommunications ICT policy, regulation. contracting and consulting, which has been developed in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.