ABI Research is answering the simple question – where are the best deals for mobile broadband? The three countries that are on the list are the UK, France and India. India is especially interesting as operators there offer an unlimited download plans for just over $17 per month.
India may proven to be just a tip of an iceberg, according to the research company’s analyst Bhavya Khanna. It is expected that carriers in emerging markets with low Internet penetration price mobile broadband aggressively to drive usage. On the other hand, in developed markets the widespread use of data dongles has created strains on mobile networks, which has prompted some operators to limit data usage to 3-5 GB per month, even for their most expensive plans.
ABI’s VP of forecasting Jake Saunders notices the problem of consumers’ confusion on overage charges for data plans. As a nice example, he points to operators in Singapore which have a fixed “cap” on overage costs per month, ensuring that users do not get “bill-shock.”
As always, you can get additional information from ABI Research’s website.