Ten gigabits per second. Not long ago, that kind of bandwidth was reserved for corporate campuses, data centers, or government research labs. Today, in Singapore, 10 Gbps fibre is a consumer product priced as casually as a streaming subscription. In the United States, meanwhile, the same speed is treated like a high-end indulgence, accessible only to a small slice of households at premium rates. The comparison is stark: $22 per month in Singapore versus nearly $200 in the U.S. for equivalent capacity. Americans frequently pay more for two or three gigabits per second than Singaporeans do for ten. The result is a pricing gap so wide that Americans often pay more for a fraction of the speed. The underlying technology is the same; what differs, however, is how the markets are structured. |
Singapore’s major providers — SIMBA, M1, StarHub, and Singtel — all offer 10 Gbps service, ranging from $22 to $65 a month. That translates to a cost of just $2.20 to $6.50 per gigabit per month. By contrast, prices from U.S. providers cluster at far higher levels. Prices range from $19.50 to $77.50 per gigabit, even for slower services. AT&T’s 2 Gbps plan, at $155, works out to more than 35 times the per gigabit cost of SIMBA’s 10 Gbps service. Even the cheapest U.S. 10 Gbps offer (from US Internet at $195 per month) is nearly nine times more expensive per gigabit than Singapore’s most affordable option.
The disparity is so great that it is hard to attribute it to anything other than market structure. |
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Source: Telecom Pricing Intelligence Platform |
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Source: Telecom Pricing Intelligence Platform |
Singapore: Competition Turns 10Gbps into an Everyday Utility |
Singapore’s market design is deliberate: Government policy from 2008 created NetLink Trust, a wholesale open-access provider that owns and operates the country’s passive fibre network. All retail ISPs must lease capacity from NetLink on the same terms. Without control over the infrastructure, ISPs can only compete on price, service and customer experience. This structure creates a level playing field that rewards efficiency and innovation. More than a dozen ISPs now battle for customers in a country of just six million people, producing one of the most competitive fixed broadband markets in the world. Prices fall quickly, promotions are aggressive, and services that might be considered premium elsewhere become mass-market standards.
For consumers, this means 10 Gbps connectivity is no longer a status symbol but an everyday expectation. SIMBA’s 10 Gbps service costs just $22/month, while even Singtel’s premium offering remains under $65. The abundance of choice ensures adoption is high and affordability is universal. Ultra-fast broadband is treated much like water or electricity: not something to aspire to, but a baseline utility. |
United States: Premium Prices, Limited Competition |
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The U.S. market, by contrast, is dominated by vertically integrated operators that initially built and currently own both the network and the retail relationship. Because most households have only one or two fixed-line options, competition is limited.
The economics of building fibre amplify this effect. With high deployment costs across a vast geography, operators rarely overbuild. Instead, they carve up territories, sometimes down to within individual municipalities, where each becomes the sole fibre provider. Most households see a binary choice: their local incumbent and perhaps one alternative, such as Verizon Fios in certain regions or T-Mobile’s 5G home broadband. The result is functional fibre monopolies with little incentive to compete on price.
With such limited rivalry, providers have wide latitude to position speed as a luxury rather than a mass market upgrade. Multi-gigabit service is marketed as a premium tier, with 2–3 Gbps plans priced between $100 and $155 per month. For most households, the more affordable options are still in the hundreds of megabits, not multiple gigabits, reinforcing the idea that ultra-fast broadband is an upgrade for the few rather than a baseline for all. In areas where 10 Gbps is available at all, such as through US Internet in Minneapolis, it remains a niche product (with a $195/month price tag) aimed at enthusiasts or business users.
This pricing model means U.S. consumers pay four to seven times more per Gbps than their Singaporean counterparts. The philosophy is clear: fast broadband is something consumers aspire to, not something everyone expects. |
The Core Difference: Market Structure, Not Technology |
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It is tempting to attribute Singapore’s advantage to urban density: building fibre to high-rise apartments is cheaper than wiring suburban America. But while density does matter, it does not explain why even in dense U.S. cities, where build costs are comparable, prices still remain many times higher.
The decisive factor is clearly market structure. Singapore enforces wholesale access and fosters direct retail competition creating downward pricing pressure and commoditising multi-gigabit connectivity. The United States, on the other hand, allows vertically integrated incumbents to dominate, restricting competition and enabling premium pricing strategies. |
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Both nations deploy the same core fibre technologies. One has turned it into a commodity, the other into a luxury. |
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As bandwidth demands explode, driven by cloud computing, AI workloads, and immersive media, the cost of broadband will shape economic competitiveness and who can fully participate in the digital economy.
Singapore’s model shows that regulatory policy can make next-generation connectivity widely affordable. The U.S. experience shows that absent competitive pressure, ultra-fast broadband risks remaining a niche luxury.
The lesson is clear: technology sets the ceiling, but competition and market design decide the price.
About the Author:
Soichi Nakajima
VP of Data and Analysis
snakajima@tarifica.com
With over 20 years of telecommunication market analysis experience, Soichi oversees the data collection, quality, research, analysis, and production of all data projects and quantitative studies. |
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Tarifica is the leading provider of telecommunications plan and pricing data to the global telecom industry. Our sole focus is telecommunications offers, resulting in an in-depth and specialized understanding of both the broader telecom environment and plan specifics, including prices, terms and conditions, add-ons, restrictions, and more. Contact us to learn more. |
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