[Satellite TODAY 08-26-10] The average price paid for a fixed broadband service bundle has fallen by about 5 Euros ($6.30) between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010 to 40.7 Euros ($51.40) per month, according to an Analysys Mason triple-play pricing study, released Aug. 25.
    Over a six-month period ending with the second quarter of 2010), the median price of fixed broadband services, excluding voice and TV services, also fell to 25.9 Euros ($32.75) per month.
    The report, which tracked more than 1000 fixed broadband-based bundles in Europe and the United States, said that while broadband prices have fallen after remaining somewhat stable during the recession, broadband access speeds have increased at an average rate of 20 percent.
    Analysys Mason Senior Analyst Martin Scott, who authored the report, said that competition from mobile broadband services contributed to the downward pressure on fixed broadband tariffs during the first half of 2010. “Almost 20 percent of the tariffs we tracked during the second quarter of 2010 offered downstream bandwidths of 30 megabits or greater (although the proportion of subscribers that actually take these ultra-fast services is likely to be much lower than 20 percent). Consequently, the average price per megabit per second has declined from 7.5 Euros ($9.40) in the fourth quarter of 2009 to just 5.8 Euros ($7.33) in the second quarter of 2010.”
    According to Scott, premiums that providers charge for mobile broadband services are also falling as prepaid mobile broadband services with usage caps of 3GB or more now undercut entry-level fixed broadband service prices in most Western European countries.