Are Broadband Prices Rising or Falling?

It typically is somewhat difficult to measure price changes for a variety of consumer goods, in large part because the "product" changes over time, so nominal prices tell part of the story, but not the whole story. PC hardware, for example, has seen both nominal price declines and vast improves in functionality, all at the same time. That tends to be true in the software area as well, at least in terms of number of features and capabilities.

Multi-channel video service prices tend to rise over time, but the nature of the product also changes. There are more channels and features, even as the price rises.

In the voice area, one can note that mobile and fixed voice services now feature many more features and lower nominal prices, for the most part, though some prices, as in the case of text messaging, are rising. 

One might argue that when service providers increase bandwidth without increasing prices, something like that process of product improvement is at work. Still, recent data from the Pew Internet & American Life project suggests that broadband prices are a bit lower, while dial-up prices are rising. 

Broadband users reported an average monthly bill of $34.50 in April 2008, down from $36 in December 2005, researchers at Pew say. That has happened despite the fact that nearly one-third of home broadband users have a premium broadband

service that gives them a faster connection to the Internet, and for which they pay a higher monthly price. 

Dial-up users, on the other hand, reported monthly bills of $19.70, up nine percent from the $18 figure from December 2005.

The reported average cost of digital subscriber line service ($31.50) continues to be less than cable modem service ($37.50), Pew researchers say.

Given the fact that higher-priced, but higher-capacity products increasingly are available, the simple question "are broadband prices increasing or decreasing" cannot be answered very well. If users want more bandwidth, and buy plans that provide that access, but at higher prices, that is comparing apples and oranges. 

To get to an answer, one would have to compare prices over time for products of equivalent functionality. Aggregate prices alone will not provide answers.