$1 a Gigabyte in 2022?

On a global basis, Internet bandwidth costs have fallen by two orders of magnitude between 1999 and 2013. Some argue bandwidth will have to fall another two orders of magnitude before most people in emerging markets are able to use the Internet. 

At current rates of price deflation, one might expect global Internet bandwidth to drop two orders of magnitude by about 2022. That is important because prices for using a gigabyte of mobile data might then be about $1 per gigabyte, a level many believe will be necessary to support mass adoption and use of Internet apps. 

In 2030, at current rates of price deflation, a gigabyte consumed should cost about seven cents a gigabyte. 

Some believe it will take costs about a tenth of a cent per megabyte, or about $1 per gigabyte, before widespread Internet usage will occur in many parts of the developing world. 



Mary Meeker's "Internet Trends" presentation