Although Pakistanis might have been a little late to the party in terms of the introduction of 3G and 4G connectivity, it’s been a while now that they have had these technologies, but there are no signs of the costs getting cheaper. The world is on the horizon of 5G, which we won’t see until the end of 2019 or probably next year. In Pakistan, that introduction could take a lot of time. Considering Pakistan’s majority population and the invasion of the internet in our lives, it might have been expected that telecom operators would have been a little generous in-terms of mobile-data packages, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case here!
Cable.co.uk analysed 6316 mobile data plans in 230 countries after which it came up with a list that ranked Pakistan 33rd in the cheapest data rates. The analysis took into account the cost of 1GB of data for each country and ranked them accordingly. As per the ranking, Pakistan stands 33rd among countries having the cheapest mobile data plans. Its average cost per 1 GB is Rs. 258.73, i.e. $ 1.85.The cheapest 1 GB used in Pakistan cost Rs. 40, $0.29, while the most expensive 1 GB used costs Rs. 1000, $7.15. Moreover, the country’s mobile data plans amount to 58.
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The cheapest data rates are those of India, who takes the top spot with an average cost per GB of $0.26. On the other end of the barrel sits Zimbabwe, with the most expensive data rate at $75.20. Surprisingly, the UK and the US have been ranked among the most expensive countries, ranked at 136 and 182 respectively. The UK has per GB cost of $6.66 and the US has $12.37.
Here are the details of top 10 cheapest and most expensive data rates, country-wise:
CHEAPEST:
| Rank | Country | Average Cost of 1 GB Mobile Data | Plans Measured |
| 1 | India | $0.26 | 57 |
| 2 | Kyrgyzstan | $0.27 | 12 |
| 3 | Kazakhstan | $0.49 | 26 |
| 4 | Ukraine | $0.51 | 12 |
| 5 | Rwanda | $0.56 | 36 |
| 6 | Sudan | $0.68 | 35 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | $0.78 | 38 |
| 8 | Mongolia | $0.82 | 26 |
| 9 | Myanmar | $0.87 | 11 |
| 10 | DRC | $0.88 | 31 |
EXPENSIVE
| Rank | Country | Average Cost of 1 GB Mobile Data | Plans Measured |
| 220 | Wallis and Fortuna | $26.86 | 6 |
| 221 | Nauru | $28.13 | 5 |
| 222 | Tokelau | $29.96 | 15 |
| 223 | Samoa | $30.09 | 42 |
| 224 | Greece | $32.71 | 15 |
| 225 | Bermuda | $37.74 | 25 |
| 226 | Djibouti | $37.92 | 5 |
| 227 | Falkland Islands | $47.39 | 4 |
| 228 | Saint Helena | $55.47 | 4 |
| 229 | Equatorial Guinea | $65.83 | 12 |
| 230 | Zimbabwe | $75.20 | 37 |
