Marking a major milestone, there are now more than 600 million broadband service subscribers around the world, according to latest figures from The Broadband Forum and Point Topic. The 600-million mark was reached in 1Q this year, which indicates that broadband subscriber growth is accelerating, the organizations announced.
The global broadband subscriber lines grew by more than 100 million in less than 18 months, 20% of total new additions, Broadband Forum noted.
Global broadband lines increased 16.12 million in 1Q, the two organizations estimate, a 2.7% quarterly and 11.48% annual increase. Results also showed Asia, China in particular, leading IPTV as well as broadband subscriber growth.
“This is another significant milestone in an exciting arena that shows no signs of slowing down,” Robin Mersh, Broadband Forum CEO, commented. “It is especially rewarding to be making this announcement in Asia, which has contributed so much to fueling this phenomenal success. I am also particularly pleased to see how exceptionally well fiber is doing, a clear indication of the importance of our continued efforts in testing and certification of G-PON.”
There were few changes in The Broadband Forum´s Top 20 Country Rankings. A total 262.08 million broadband subscribers were registered in Asia, where a total of 8.575 million new lines were added in 1Q, a 3.38% quarterly and 15.19% annual increase. China´s broadband subscriber base grew the fastest as 26.4 million new lines were added, a 19.17% annual rate.
Russia (27.43%), Ukraine (26.82%), along with China, India and Brazil also exhibited double-digit quarterly rate increases. Taken together, the five Asian countries in the Top 20 serve 239 million broadband subscribers, according to Broadband Forum, more than one-third the global total.
Commenting on other results, “DSL is the most popular access technology on a global basis,” stated Point Topic CEO Oliver Johnson. “For fiber, the cost-effectiveness, from the operator’s point of view, and the significant increase in bandwidth over DSL in particular is hitting the sweet spot at the moment in terms of technology market share.”
Looking at IPTV, the Asian market also continues to grow fastest, adding 65.6 million subscribers in 1Q, a 3.8 million increase. China added three-times as many IPTV subscribers in 1Q as any other country. The gap is expected to increase even as IPTV growth accelerates in countries such as the U.S. and France, according to Broadband Forum.
