A comprehensive analysis and database of mobile network operator and mobile market competitiveness metrics. The database includes mobile subscribers, mobile subscriber shares, deployed radio sites, radio site density, spectrum holdings per band, mobile network data volume, average data usage per subscriber, average data usage per person, spectrum usage, average BusyHour throughput per sector, radio network capacity utilization and radio network capacity limits in 2024 and in 2030.

Monthly prices are 2-3x higher and gigabyte prices are 5-6x higher in markets with only 3 mobile network operators. The effective competition in markets with 4 mobile network operators not only leads to much lower mobile prices, but as well to substantially lower fixed broadband prices. In markets with only 3 mobile network operators, consumers not only pay 3x more for mobile plans with 100 gigabytes they also pay 60% more every month to buy fixed broadband plans with Gigabit speeds.

5G fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband plans are marketed and priced as equal or better alternatives compared to non- pure fibre based broadband plans. In 9 out of 50 countries (e.g., in the UK and Switzerland) plans with the lowest monthly price, for 100 Mbit/s download speed, were 5G FWA rather than fixed broadband plans. While broadband prices are higher in more expensive countries mobile prices are not. Mobile monthly prices are, in average, 2-3 times lower in 4 vs. 3 MNO markets.

4G&5G smartphone plan prices – for new contracts – continued to fall across most EU and OECD countries despite near double-digit inflation figures. The near-double-digit inflation in 2022 had a moderate price increase effect in markets where only 3-MNOs are present while it had no significant impact in markets where 4 MNOs are present. In almost all 4-MNO markets monthly prices fell or were flat despite an average inflation of ~9%.

Prices of 4G&5G smartphone plans continued to fall in EU in 1H2022. The median monthly price of smartphone plans in EU fell to 19 EUR in 1H2022. The median price of 4G plans fell to 15 EUR while the median price of 5G plans fell to 28 EUR. Prices of 5G plans continued to fall faster than 4G plans (~18% per annum versus ~12%). The Canadian wireless market, a de-facto network duopoly, was again ranked as the most expensive market among 50 European, American, Asia Pacific, Middle East and African countries.