Broadband Reaches 100 Million Lines

Figures from the third quarter show that the global number of broadband lines had risen to 89.4 million by the end of September, an increase of 10 million from the 79.4 million recorded in June. At the last count, there were more than 55 million DSL lines on the planet (see World DSL Lines Exceed 55m In Third Quarter).

Assuming this growth is maintained, the total number was expected to pass 100 million by the end of the year. The fourth quarter is traditionally busier for broadband providers than the third.

Point Topic states that broadband is “clearly established as one of the fastest growing new technologies in history”. It illustrates this point by noting that it has taken broadband just three-and-a-half years to grow from 10 million lines to 100 million lines. The mobile phone industry took five-and-a-half years to achieve the same feat.

The fastest growth has occurred in the Asia-Pacific region which now accounts for 44% of all broadband lines. Some 33% are located in the Americas with Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounting for the remaining 23%.

Global DSL And Cable Broadband Lines (000s)
	Sep-03			Jun-03			Q3 Growth (%)
	DSL	Cable	Total	DSL	Cable	Total	DSL	Cable	Total
Americas	11,660.6	17,463.1	29,123.7	10,513.1	15,998.2	26,511.3	10.9	9.2	9.9
Asia-Pacific	27,994.4	11,524.7	39,519.0	24,439.9	10,154.1	34,594.0	14.5	13.5	14.2
EMEA	15,529.9	5,204.9	20,734.8	13,532.5	4,719.2	18,251.7	14.8	10.3	13.6
World Total	55,184.8	34,192.7	89,377.6	48,485.5	30,871.3	79,357.0	13.8	10.8	12.6
Source: Point Topic, January 2004

Broadband market grows up There is evidence to show that the high-speed internet market is maturing. Previously seen as an oddity in a few unusual countries, broadband has now acquired importance in all the world’s major economies.

The United States is the major player in numerical terms with almost 23 million lines as at 30 September 2003. However, China is the main growth market and is predicted to overtake South Korea in the first quarter of 2004 and Japan within the next year or so.

Falling prices have been a key factor in helping to drive take-up. The major DSL operators cut their prices by 25% on average in the year to September 2003. These reductions in addition to increased coverage and greater financial strength mean that DSL is showing bigger percentage increases than cable in most countries.

Top Ten Broadband Countries By Number Of Lines Q3 2003
	Lines (000s)			Q3 Growth (%)
Country	DSL	Cable	Total	DSL	Cable	Total
USA	8,243.5	14,681.0	22,924.5	10.2	9.8	10.0
Japan	9,228.6	3,027.5	12,256.0	11.8	12.9	12.0
South Korea	7,069.4	4,924.0	11,993.4	2.2	19.9	8.8
China	7,817.0	2,255.0	10,072.0	34.9	1.9	25.8
Canada	2,027.7	2,373.1	4,400.8	8.5	5.1	6.6
Germany	4,250.5	71.0	4,321.5	10.0	9.9	10.0
France	2,429.5	348.2	2,777.7	19.2	4.0	17.0
Taiwan	2,374.0	400.0	2,774.0	10.9	25.0	12.7
UK	1,414.7	1,231.6	2,646.3	32.0	12.6	22.2
Italy	1,672.0	175.2	1,847.2	16.5	17.6	16.6
Source: Point Topic, January 2003