Filenews 5 October 2022
By Evagoras Prokopios
In 37th place, out of 117 countries worldwide, in terms of digital well-being ranks Cyprus the fourth annual edition of the Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL).
Of the five fundamental pillars of digital life, Cyprus takes the worst position in terms of internet quality (ranking 53rd in the world) and the best in electronic security (22nd). Cyprus' eGovernment services put it in 31st place, while e-infrastructure and internet affordability in 39th and 51st place, respectively. This year, Cyprus entered the top 40 in the world, occupying the 37th place in the final index and the 5th in Asia. The DQL study is being conducted by cybersecurity company Surfshark.
On average the internet quality
The quality of Cyprus' internet, taking into account its speed, stability and growth, is ranked 53rd in the world and is about the same as the global average. In terms of internet speed alone, Cyprus' mobile internet ranks higher than fixed broadband in the world ranking, with a speed of 159.2 Mbps/s (7th worldwide). Meanwhile, fixed broadband is in 66th place (58 Mbps/s). Compared to Turkey, Cyprus' mobile Internet is 3 times faster, while broadband is 30% faster. Since last year, mobile internet speed in Cyprus has improved by 49.9% (53 Mbps) and fixed broadband speed has increased by 14.9% (7.5 Mbps).
More expensive than elsewhere
In terms of the internet price of Cyprus, it holds the 51st place in the world. Residents can buy 1 GB of mobile internet in Cyprus for 3 minutes and 39 seconds of work per month, 3 times more than in Turkey. However, compared to Israel, which has the most affordable mobile internet on the planet (5 sec. per 1 GB), Cypriots work 45 times more to have it. The fixed broadband connection costs Cypriots about 2 hours 32 minutes of their valuable working time every month. To afford it, Cypriots have to work 8 times more than Israeli citizens, for whom the most affordable package costs only 19 minutes of work per month. Since last year, broadband internet has become more affordable in Cyprus, making people work 46 minutes less to afford fixed broadband internet service.
LABELLING
We still want a lot of work
We want work on the cost and quality of the internet in Cyprus. Only in 53rd place was the quality of the internet offered to us, very low compared to how expensive it costs us. Although according to the survey we are making significant progress, it does not change the fact that we do not pay what we get, compared to other countries. However, when it comes to cybersecurity, we are moving on secure digital paths.
