The global broadband industry, with over 400 Million subscribers, has grown at fast pace in the last ten years, but recession has retarded the speed in all markets.
According to the report for the Broadband Forum by Point Topic analysts, the total number of broadband subscribers has touched a new milestone of 400 Million, as reported by marketwatch.
Ten years ago (in 1998), there were just 57,200 broadband subscribers around the globe, and within a year (1999), the number increased six times to over 280,890. The number of subscribers increased tremendously in the last ten years to reach 400 Million at present. Besides, the period witnessed evolution of new access technologies such as fiber that started in 2002 with 18,000 subscribers. Since 2002, the number of subscribers using fiber technology has crossed 45 Million around the globe.
The statistics given by Point Topic reflect the changes that have taken place in the field of technology and rising number of broadband subscribers geographically in the past few years. Since its introduction, broadband has transformed from simple Internet access to triple play service delivery. Today, it has become an integral part of day-to-day activities, both at home and workplace.
Moreover, the broadband industry has undergone tremendous changes in the past 14 years from preliminary development stages to the introduction of different access technologies and highly advanced applications.
The number of businesses using multiple broadband lines has been continuously growing. This practice has driven the total number of subscribers more than the total number of premises in the broadband-developed countries. Consequently, the total number of broadband lines worldwide has risen at a rapid pace.
However, the growth rate of broadband industry in industrialized countries is expected to slowdown amidst current recession, but emerging economies are unlikely to see much impact on broadband penetration. Moreover, the little impact of recession is expected to stay during second half of 2008 and the whole of 2009.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The global broadband industry has grown at a rapid pace since the inception of technology to reach 400 Million subscribers at present, primarily due to tremendous growth in emerging markets. The focus now should shift to providing high quality broadband, fast speed, high bandwidth that can help in delivering multiple and pin-sharp images for applications. This will enable to develop advanced global standards to deliver end-to-end solutions.”
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