The number of fixed broadband subscribers continues to grow in 2011, with more than 539 million fixed broadband subscribers globally at the end of Q2—an 8% increase from Q2 2010. ABI Research estimates that worldwide fiber broadband subscriber numbers will more than double in 2016 to 142 million subscribers, from 69.6 million in 2011.
“Customer net addition is stronger in emerging markets,” says ABI Research practice director Jason Blackwell,
The number of customers using high bandwidth services, including Internet video and online gaming, is growing around the world. Exploding IP traffic generated by these services is putting service providers under pressure to handle the bandwidth demand. Broadband operators are expanding fiber broadband coverage which can best serve these bandwidth-hungry services. For example, China Telecom is deploying fiber-optic broadband aiming to serve 100 million households and 30 million fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) subscribers by the end of 2015, says ABI Research.
North America is currently the region with the highest fiber-optic broadband penetration, followed by Asia-Pacific. Extending fiber broadband coverage not only increases speed, but also enables the roll out of services, including video on demand (VOD) and IPTV.
The Asia Pacific region is seeing strong subscriber growth; roughly 17 million Chinese subscribers have been added since Q2 2010. “The Asia-Pacific broadband market is sure to continue growing in the medium-term since low broadband penetration in countries such as China and India leaves plenty of room for broadband growth,” comments research analyst Khin Sandi Lynn.
ABI Research’s new “Broadband Subscribers Market Data” study, which is updated biannually, profiles subscriber trends categorized by operator, by country, and by technology. The database forms part of the company’s Broadband Research Service, which also includes other Market Data products, Research Reports, Surveys, ABI Insights, and analyst inquiry support.