You know how certain people keep proclaiming that wireless technologies are better than fixed broadband technologies like the NBN? Well, it seems they don’t factor in the all important aspect of price. As Spandas Lui at ARN has reported, analyst firm Market Clarity has found that mobile broadband can cost up to 1,333 times more than fixed broadband. Ouch.
To be fair, that figure was gained by comparing the most expensive mobile service to the cheapest fixed line service, but even comparing cheap with cheap, mobile broadband is still 27.7 times more expensive than fixed line broadband.
Mobile broadband pricing will come down over time, but it’s always going to have a premium price tag over a dedicated fixed line service. And while this particular comparison says nothing about reliability and speeds, which is also a valid argument between the two options, it’s an important reminder that wireless will never replace fixed line services, no matter how many people buy iPads.
[ARN]