At $22 per GB, N. America is 2nd most expensive region for mobile broadband, study finds

Mobile subscribers in the Asia Pacific region have the cheapest mobile data service plans in the world, according to research firm Quantum-Web. Meantime, Latin America is home to the world's most expensive mobile data plans at an average of $23 per gigabyte--double that of Asia Pacific.

North America is the second most expensive region in terms of mobile data pricing, followed by Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The findings were included in the executive summary of Quantum-Web's fourth-quarter 2012 broadband tariffs analysis, a copy of which was obtained by FierceBroadbandWireless

Quantum-Web, which tracks 3G and 4G mobile broadband tariffs, found considerable pricing variation among individual operators. Under a 10-gigabyte shared data plan, Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), the world's largest LTE operator, charges about $6 per gigabyte. However, the average U.S. mobile broadband tariff works out to more than $22 per gigabyte, said the research firm.

In Canada, where the average mobile broadband tariff is close to $15.75, Videotron sits at the low-end of the market by charging $3.80 per gigabyte. Rogers, however, charges a whopping $48.30 per gigabyte, making the Canadian operator's mobile broadband tariff the priciest in North America, said Quantum-Web.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Cable & Wireless in Jamaica levies an expensive mobile broadband tariff quite close to that of Rogers, while Antel in Uruguay has the region's cheapest price at around $3.25 per gigabyte.

For more:
- see this Quantum-Web release

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