A reliable measure for internet affordability is the ‘Cost of data-only mobile-broadband basket (2GB)’ as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI). This indicates the cost of purchasing a 2GB broadband data plan relative to the average salary in a country.
In 2020, according to ITU data, this cost stood at 2.7 percent for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). By 2023, only five out of the 14 Forum Island Countries for which we have data had a cost of mobile broadband basket as a percentage of GNI below 2.7. This is reported in the table below.
| Country | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Fiji | 2.72 | 3.01 | 3 | 3.25 | 3.13 |
| French Polynesia | NA | NA | NA | 0.6 | 0.55 |
| Micronesia (Federate States of) | 10.59 | 8.98 | 9.28 | 8.72 | 8.67 |
| Kiribati | 5.14 | 5.62 | 5.84 | 5.11 | 4.6 |
| Marshall Islands | NA | NA | NA | 3.03 | 3.17 |
| New Caledonia | NA | NA | NA | 0.68 | 0.63 |
| Nauru | 1.92 | 2.23 | NA | 2.28 | 0.86 |
| Palau | 1.74 | 1.89 | 2.08 | 2.49 | 2.13 |
| Papua New Guinea | 10.69 | 18.77 | 6.01 | 16.46 | 11.83 |
| Solomon Islands | 11.97 | 8.85 | 9.77 | 10.21 | 9.86 |
| Tonga | 15.1 | 11.37 | 8.7 | 6.27 | 2.09 |
| Tuvalu | NA | 3.09 | 2.74 | 2.48 | 2.31 |
| Vanuatu | 5.1 | 3.78 | 3.39 | 3 | 2.6 |
| Samoa | 4.44 | 4.96 | 5.31 | 6.59 | 5.59 |
