back to article Iran the numbers – and Persian internet is the cheapest in the world

Tired of continual price hikes on your broadband deal? Then why not move to Iran? According to a study released today, it has the cheapest broadband. The survey conducted by cable.co.uk and BDRC Continental ranked 196 countries on their monthly prices for a broadband connection, using 3,351 consumer packages tracked over eight …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "if you're willing to ignore political and social problems"

    <sarcasm>

    With Brexit, tax dodging and food banks, you could almost say that also applies to the UK.

    </sarcasm>

    1. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

      Chin up mate.

      It could be worse. Much worse...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Chin up mate.

        It could be worse. Much worse...

        "will", not "could".

        You would have thought after the Blair/Brown years, the Con/Lib Coalition, and that lightweight Cameron, with opposition full of morons like Milliband, and Fidel Corbyn, that we'd finally bottomed out on the shallowness and stupidity of politicians, and that having defined that absolute zero of talent, things would have to improve, or at least get no worse. However, the gormless Theresa May continues to leave no stone unturned in her efforts to screw everything up, and is ably assisted by a cabinet of the most appalling duffers, fools and lightweights, proving that . It ***will*** get worse.

        At the moment the intellectual pygmies of Westminster are trailing through the newspapers the idea of paying the EU €40bn for the privilege of the Germans being able to sell their cars to us. In the case of the current government, I've never seen such a collection of spineless, wretched, disorganised, out-of-touch clowns in my life (admittedly there is a mirror image of those attributes on the Opposition benches).

        1. Commswonk

          Re: Chin up mate.

          @ Ledswinger: You have clearly forgotten Einstein's Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

          Keep it in mind and everything makes sense.

          In the meantime I would avoid any media access tomorrow; it's budget day, and I have no great faith in the present incumbent.

        2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Chin up mate.

          "At the moment the intellectual pygmies of Westminster are trailing through the newspapers the idea of paying the EU €40bn for the privilege of the Germans being able to sell their cars to us."

          I thought it was the other way round. If not all those car workers in Sunderland, Derby and Swindon are going to have a nasty shock when they found out what they actually voted for.

        3. Lars Silver badge
          Happy

          Re: Chin up mate.

          Ledswinger, I am sure you have a point in there, but why buy German cars, they won't deny selling to you, why not buy domestic British cars, And there are French, Italian even Swedish and Spanish to choose from too, and why not Go Global as the lady has suggested, into the big wide world. India, for instance, have some nice brands and China is soon worth considering too. And lets not forget the USA.

          But to come to the point, Big Mac was mentioned and suddenly it has all become clear to me. I need a better deal, all I actually want is the bread and the meat, (and they can keep the decorations) and as I eat in the car, piss in the parking lot (only if pressed) why, oh why, should I pay for those fucking awful buildings and unelected accountants. It's so blatantly obvious they need me more than I need them, And now, when I think about it, and now that I have payed into that organization for many many years they actually owe me a lot. Perhaps not the kitchen sink, modest as I am, but a few pissoirs at least.

          It's amazing how much one can learn from reading English these days. I will keep you updated.

          1. veti Silver badge

            Re: Chin up mate.

            One of the few nice things to come out of Brexit should, in theory, be a drop in the price of Japanese cars. Because the European import quota will no longer apply.

            So don't mess about with that Eurotrash, buy a decent Toyota or Mazda.

  2. M7S

    and in North Korea the cost is?

    Enquiring minds want to know, although this might be officially discouraged, possibly even bad for one's health.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: and in North Korea the cost is?

      I believe that if you look at any websites that aren't approved by the great and glorious leadership, the base price is your life.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: and in North Korea the cost is?

      It's cheap but unusable as they are hacking every western country all the time.

    3. veti Silver badge
      Boffin

      Re: and in North Korea the cost is?

      I don't know why it's not linked from the article, but the full list is here. (Warning: Google Sheets.)

      Spoiler: North Korea is not included.

  3. SkippyBing

    Cost of Living

    Surely it needs to be normalised against cost of living? Or a Big Mac. Otherwise I might move to Iran for the cheap, cheap, broadband only to find it's equivalent to a week's wages. Or in the case of Burkina Faso, a years.

    1. Arthur the cat Silver badge

      Re: Cost of Living

      Or in the case of Burkina Faso, a years.

      A quick look finds that Burkina Faso has a per capita GDP of ~$650 so $954.54/month for broadband is just a tad pricey.

      1. DropBear

        Re: Cost of Living

        I wouldn't use GDP for that. No idea what would be the proper metric but the only relation GDP is in with what the most of the population makes in a lot of countries is "constrained by"....

  4. Lars Silver badge

    Anybody with a link to that list.

    1. maffski

      RE: Anybody with a link to that list.

      List in Google spreadsheet

      Unfortunately it doesn't seem to make any adjustment for purchasing parity so the list is completely pointless - except as a cheap PR exercise to get their name mentioned.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: RE: Anybody with a link to that list.

        @maffski -- well found, Sir !

      2. Insert sadsack pun here

        Re: RE: Anybody with a link to that list.

        Why do you think it's critical for PPP to be implemented? It's not measuring affordability, it's measuring cost.

        It's very interesting that Russia (which has a tightly controlled economy and highly -cough- stable politics) is almost twice as expensive as Ukraine (which is a shambles)...

        1. veti Silver badge

          Re: RE: Anybody with a link to that list.

          It's very interesting that Russia (which has a tightly controlled economy and highly -cough- stable politics) is almost twice as expensive as Ukraine (which is a shambles)...

          Russia's per-capita GDP is almost exactly double Ukraine's. So I guess that's probably the answer.

          Given that they're both at the "really, really cheap" end of the spectrum (the difference being that Russia is merely "ridiculously cheap", whereas Ukraine is "asymptotically approaching absolute zero") - I would guess that the price is basically set by the government, and it's based on what they think their median lower-middle-class citizen is willing to pay for their propaganda.

          1. Insert sadsack pun here

            Re: RE: Anybody with a link to that list.

            The price is not set by the government in either country.

            1. veti Silver badge

              Re: RE: Anybody with a link to that list.

              The price is not set by the government in either country.

              You sure about that? The governments don't set targets or quotas for ISPs, or subsidise their infrastructure, or grant (or control) local monopolies?

              "Setting the price" doesn't have to mean explicitly specifying what it must be. But governments generally have a huge influence over the economics of ISP operations.

  5. Teiwaz
    Coat

    Persian Internet

    Hmm, furry cat videos...and even furrier women???

    No wonder it's cheaper, think of the savings on razors (on both sides of the sexual divide).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Persian Internet

      @Teiwaz ... furrier women ? You didn't know that muslim women shave 'down there' ?? Now you do !

      1. Steve the Cynic

        Re: Persian Internet

        I once read an interview with a senior marketing person at Ann Summers. She said that they sell a *lot* of their stuff in the various countries in the Arabian peninsula - her words were something like, "In public they wear all that stuff but underneath it all they wear the sexiest underwear in the world."

        1. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

          Re: Persian Internet

          I went out with a Egyptian-French girl once and can confirm that whilst she didn't wear all of the burkha garb... she was totally and utterly a "goer".

          Nudge nudge, wink wink.. say no more, say no more ;-)

      2. Teiwaz

        Re: Persian Internet

        'down there'

        Ah, you mean the tops of their feet, right?

        Having seen the state of Arabic porn, I doubt any shaving is necessary.

  6. Allan George Dyer

    Shop around...

    The survey tells me the price in HK is $71.21, I'm paying $21.51 so it pays to shop around.

    1. veti Silver badge

      Re: Shop around...

      I'd like to know what their definition of "broadband" is, and what their methodology was for determining its price. Did they look at ads? Ask providers? Ask consumers, or consumer advocacy groups? Ask governments?

      I can imagine that each of these approaches could yield quite different results...

  7. Alistair
    Windows

    @AGD:

    The price listed for Canada seems a tad *low* - if it were based on average prices. Although I'm paying a tad less than the listed average. I rather suspect that this list may have been subject to the "18 months on this bargain price" sales pitches that are used around this neck of the woods.

  8. Dieter Haussmann

    Iran is per GB, then you have to GO TO A KIOSK and buy a scratch card to top up!

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