High Growth Markets

Broadband subscription enjoyed an upswing during Q1 2010, supported in part by healthy DSL growth in every region, strong fiber roll-outs in Asia and aggressive IPTV service offerings, according to Broadband Forum, in conjunction with research by industry analysts Point Topic. The figures show that global broadband lines now top 484 million lines (484,788,597), representing a 3.12 percent growth in the quarter and 12.41 percent in the last 12 months to end of Q1. The first quarter growth rate increase shows a swelling of positive growth for worldwide broadband. At the same time the number of IPTV subscribers grew to 36.3 million. China and the USA are the top two countries for both broadband and IPTV.

Based on the research by Point Topic GBS database, Asia was responsible for more than 53 percent of the broadband lines added, with mainland China alone accounting for 45 percent of the total lines added worldwide in Q1. China continues to be at the top of the table in terms of broadband with continued healthy growth at 5.67 percent in the quarter and 20.96 percent in the twelve month period, taking it to 112,594,000 subscribers. This made China the fastest growing country in both percentage and in absolute terms in the first three months of 2010.

China was the top IPTV growth market with over five million lines, with South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong also among the top 10 countries. The Americas grew to 18.17 percent market share, representing the only other region to increase its share in the quarter, while the Middle East and Africa is beginning to show serious growth for the first time as numbers from the UAE and Egypt contributed to a record quarter. Fiber continues to grow quickly, and the figures for Q1 2010 show that Asia now has over 50 million fiber subscribers.