But where are calls the cheapest?

Consumers in the US, Canada, and Spain pay the most for their mobile bills according to a report out from the OCED.

However, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have the lowest prices for mobile phone calls among OECD countries, according to the latest OECD Communications Outlook.

The report compared prices on what it called a "medium usage basis" - 780 voice calls, 600 SMS messages, and eight MMS messages and found that monthly prices ranged from $11 to $53 across countries as of August of last year.

According to the Communications Outlook, between 2006 and 2008 mobile phone call prices fell on average by 21% for low usage consumers, 28% for medium usage and by 32% for subscribers with the highest consumption patterns.

Text messaging continues to be a particularly lucrative market for operators. Recent marketing campaigns by operators are increasingly offering SMS-based packages targeted at young subscribers.

The Communications Outlook says the share of telecommunications sector revenue from mobile phone use had reached 41% in OECD countries by 2008.

OECD mobile medium-usage basket, August 2008, tax included
(US$ purchasing price parity)
Netherlands - $131.44
Finland - $131.44
Sweden - $137.94
Denmark - $142.68
Norway - $165.33
Iceland - $197.03
Austria - $199.64
Luxembourg - $206.26
New Zealand - $256.02
Switzerland - $267.08
Japan - $267.49
Poland - $269.27
Turkey - $269.34
United Kingdom - $272.02
Hungary - $309.03
OECD - $317.77
Ireland - $330.26
Australia - $332.99
Korea - $340.13
Portugal - $370.35
France     - $378.02
Italy - $394.26
Greece - $400.82
Germany - $405.20
Mexico - $417.62
Slovak Republic - $477.46
Czech Republic - $484.34
Canada - $500.63
Spain - $508.26
United States - $635.85

* The existing mobile basket methodology did not include discounted or free calls to pre-selected phone numbers as part of "friends and family" or "preferred numbers" plans. The inclusion of these calls will be considered as part of a future update of the mobile basket methodology. Pre-paid plans are excluded.

The survey was conducted amongst member countries, which include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.