Most consumer broadband plans worldwide were sold with a temporary discount rather than a single flat price, according to a new report from Tarifica. The analysis, based on the company’s Telecom Pricing Intelligence Platform, examined 6,945 standard consumer broadband plans across 46 markets in the first quarter of 2026. It found that 57% carried a promotional rate that would expire before the standard price took effect.

Promotional plans made up 56% to 63% of all plans between Q2 2025 and Q1 2026, the report found. The median discount during that period was 29% — down from 33% a year earlier — which Tarifica attributed to operators moderating the depth of introductory offers.

The report noted that broadband markets with heavy promotional activity saw standard pricing serving less as a transaction price and more as the point customers eventually rolled into after their discount period ended, typically after six, 12, or 24 months. Tarifica found that when promotional and standard rates were combined into an effective first-year price, that price fell more than 30% below the standard rate in some regions.

The report also identified two broad approaches broadband providers used to structure pricing discounts. Some offered steep discounts of 56% to 86% for short periods of six to 10 months, while others spread more modest discounts of 20% to 40% over longer commitments of up to 24 months.

Additionally, Tarifica found that about 14% of broadband plans used a two-tier pricing structure, with an initial discount followed by a secondary, smaller discount before the standard price applied.

Tarifica said the findings suggest that accurately measuring broadband affordability requires accounting for a plan’s full pricing schedule rather than relying on a single published rate.