Broadband Access

Global fixed broadband subscriptions will reach half a billion in 2010, driven by continued growth in emerging markets, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. Fixed broadband markets in mature countries are fast approaching saturation point, but tens of millions of homes in some of the world's largest markets, such as China and India, are still without connectivity and it is these developing regions that are poised to drive a second wave of broadband growth.

The number of net new fixed broadband subscriptions in 2009 grew to over 480 million, largely as a result of accelerating growth in emerging markets. That number is expected to reach 500 million this year. China, Russia, Mexico, India and Vietnam were among the countries that recorded the greatest leaps in fixed-broadband subscription numbers in 2009.

Analyst figures indicate that seven of the top 20 countries by fixed broadband subscription count at the end of September 2009 could be classified as emerging markets. The number of net additions in each of these countries was up substantially year-on-year, while those of the world's largest developed markets were either flat or down.

Countries by fixed broadband subscriptions, September 2009:
1. China: 91,348,000
2. US: 82,846,600
3. Japan: 31,240,000
4. Germany: 25,114,300
5. France: 19,306,400
6. UK: 18,033,300
7. Korea: 16,238,262
8. Russia: 12,356,100
9. Italy: 12,116,350
10. Brazil: 10,951,600
11. Spain: 9,681,520
12. Canada: 9,562,000
13. Mexico: 8,771,100
14. India: 7,653,460
15. Netherlands: 6,274,000
16. Turkey: 6,166,800
17. Australia: 5,968,000
18. Poland: 5,654,100
19. Taiwan: 5,549,440
20. Argentina: 3,543,800
(telecoms.com, January 2010)

The demand for high-bandwidth applications will jump in the next few years as the number of households worldwide with broadband will reach close to 650 million by 2013, according to international research firm Parks Associates. The firm's new report Broadband Services: Global Outlook warns that service providers will have to continue investing in network technologies to accommodate multiple services such as video-on-demand and converging social-networking applications.

Parks Associates reports that the number of broadband households worldwide grew by over 18% in 2008 to exceed 400 million. Asia-Pacific is the largest market, accounting for over 160 million subscribers, and it will have over 49% of the global market share by 2013.

In the US, the federal government, at the request of the Obama Administration, will soon release billions of dollars from the stimulus package to promote expansion of affordable high-speed Internet services in rural areas, which will open new areas in this country to advanced online services. (Parks Associates, July 2009)