DSL Prices Hold the Line

DSL analysis firm Point-Topic says that DSL prices have not fallen in the past year, which is good for ISPs. However, the company notes strong disparities in prices around the world.

by ISP-Planet Staff [November 6, 2002]

DSL analysis firm Point-Topic says that the price of DSL service is leveling off around the world. "We think this is encouraging," says John Bosnell, editor of Point Topic. "It means that telecoms operators are still growing the broadband market without having to slash prices to unprofitable levels."

Point Topic monitors DSL installation prices, equipment prices, and monthly rentals. It also calculates the "average one-year amortized price" which is the total installation, equipment, and rental prices which a new DSL customer incurs in the first year of service, averaged over the year as a monthly rate. All prices are converted to US dollars at the then-current rates of exchange.

The analysis firm reports that the one-year amortized price of DSL to service providers fell by 24 percent over a time period of just 18 months, from March of 2000 to October of 2001, but has been flat for the past year. This implies that further price cuts will not be possible.

The report says that self-installation dramatically reduced the price of installing a DSL line, which fell from an average of $127.63 at the start of the study in March of 2000 to an average of just $55.55 at the end of the study in October of 2002.

The report notes that DSL lines in the Asia-Pacific region, in the range of $23 to $30 per month, are dramatically lower than DSL prices in Europe and North America which, in the range of $39 to $50, are about 70 percent higher.

In the future, the report says, DSL prices in the various world regions, such as North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, will draw closer together.

— End