Global Broadband Subscribers To Hit 250 Million By 2007

In early 2004, high-speed broadband internet access reached a landmark when subscriber figures hit 100 million. When compared to 1996, when subscribers totalled 100,000, it is clear to see broadband has hit the mainstream, says the Broadband Worldwide 2004: Subscriber Update report.

It is expected that broadband’s popularity and strong growth will continue through until the end of 2010 and with consumers using it to watch videos, play music and shop online.

eMarketer goes so far as to predict that future anthropologists will look back on the time between 2005 – 2010 and call it the ‘Broadband Age’. From 2010 onwards, an era of ‘Bandwidth On Demand’ is expected, when ‘bandwidth will flow like water from a tap’, according to eMarketer.

Europe Western Europe is at the forefront of transforming the worldwide internet sector. eMarketer predicts that 52.5 million households (116 million users) in Western Europe will have broadband access by the end of 2007; this is up from 20 million homes (32 million users) in 2003.

Currently Germany has the largest broadband market in Europe, but the report predicts that the UK will take the top spot by 2007, despite Germany having the population advantage. The UK is currently the fastest growing broadband market in Europe and also has the greatest choice thanks to cable companies competing strongly with DSL. It is predicted that Italy, Spain, Norway and France will also grow relatively quickly over the next few years.

In comparison, when eMarketer analysed the number of subscribers per 100 inhabitants, Denmark came out on top with 25 people per 100. By 2007, the Western Europe average is expected to reach 14.9 users per 100 inhabitants, up from 5.8 in 2003.

By the end of 2003, Deutsche Telekom in Germany was the largest DSL provider in Europe with 4 million subscribers. In comparison, France Telecom had only 3 million and BT had fewer than 2 million.

United Kingdom After lagging behind the rest of Europe in 2001 and 2002, the UK has finally caught up and is now one of the fastest growing broadband markets in the world.

BT now provides most of Britain with access to DSL and cable internet access has been helped along with some competition from cable operators NTL and Telewest.

The UK Government has made the widespread availability of broadband a priority and has taken a leaf out of leading broadband countries such as South Korea and Canada to ensure that the right pieces are being put in place, according to the report.

eMarketer believes that the UK will grow to become the largest broadband market in Europe by 2007, with 7.2 million DSL and 3.9 million cable internet households.