As carriers in Asia-Pacific become less dependent on the US and Europe for connectivity, Asia has become a hub for IP transit in its own right. Cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo have established themselves as regional hubs for exchanging traffic and hosting content, as opposed to a waypoint that carriers must pass to get content from the US.
Prices in the region have fallen accordingly, at an average of 25% compounded annually since 2010 for GigE ports, according to TeleGeography’sGlobal Internet Geography report.Prices between Asian cities vary greatly, however, ranging from $14 per Mbps in Singapore to $50 per Mbps in Manila in Q2 2013.
Prices in the core markets of East Asia are falling steadily. Hong Kong and Singapore have experienced the largest decreases, with median 10 GigE prices falling about 30% annually since 2010, to $7 per Mbps per month. (see chart 1). Median monthly 10 GigE prices in Seoul and Tokyo fell 22% and 25% annually over the past three years, to $15 and $11 per Mbps.
Cities outside these primary transit hubs are also seeing price declines, which stem from their considerable capacity growth in recent years. For example, median GigE prices in Manila decreased 17% between 2012 and 2013 and 32% annually since 2010. Prices in Jakarta dropped 22% over the past year and 26% over the past three years (see chart 2). Higher capacity ports are also becoming more widely available in these locations, with 10 GigE ports in Mumbai now below $20 per Mbps per month, and prices in Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur under $15.
Still, prices in cities outside of the core markets of East Asia remain expensive. GigE prices in Mumbai and Manila were $38 and $50 per Mbps in Q2 2013 -- two and three times more expensive than a comparable port in Hong Kong. Similarly, 10 GigE port prices in Sydney dropped 40% annually since 2010, to $21 per Mbps, but remained three times the price of a comparable port in Hong Kong.
1.
Median 10 GigE IP transit prices in Asia