Pricing Trends

The price of capacity can vary widely by route. Levels of competition, degrees of market saturation, regulatory hurdles and deployment costs can all lead to drastically different pricing for the same capacity on different routes. The median monthly lease price of 10 Gbps wavelengths between Hong Kong and London, for example, is more than 15 times greater than comparable capacity between London and New York.

The rate of price decline for capacity can also vary from one route to the next. Upgrades and new cable construction have accelerated the rate of price decline on some routes, including intra-Asia and trans-Pacific, while other routes have seen relative price stability. The median price charged for 10 Gbps wavelengths on the Hong Kong-Tokyo route decreased over 50 percent between Q4 2007 and Q3 2011. In contrast, prices for 10 Gbps wavelengths between London and New York shifted only slightly during the same time span.

NOTES Prices represent median monthly lease prices excluding local access and installation fees. All prices are in U.S. dollars.