The average price paid by Internet providers for the IP traffic wholesaler mega at the end of 2016 was US$ 28, half that paid by the end of 2015 when an average of US$56 was paid, according to the study "Evolution in the wholesale price of bandwidth to the Internet", prepared by Convergencia Research. The decrease occurred, among other causes, as a consequence of the presence of Arsat in the localities where these ISPs operate. It also allowed SMEs and cooperatives to change supplier or having a negotiating tool. The average maximum prices fell from US$122 the wholesaler mega in late 2015 to US$45 for the same period of 2016. The improvement in connectivity "will result in qualitative indirect effects such as regional economic empowerment, consumption of applications that demand more bandwidth and improve the experience of using digital services", the report notes. Convergencia Research interviewed 47 providers connecting to Arsat's fiber optic network in 68 locations in 13 provinces. However, the drop in these costs did not result in a reduction to users. Rodrigo de Loredo, president of Arsat, said that "the value of the wholesale megabyte is crumbling, because of providing a flat rate of US$18".