As the world continues to face a mixture of financial meltdown and recession broadband continues to provide a selection of bright spots.<\/p>\n
In the 12 months to the end of September 2008 64 million broadband lines were added around the world, an increase of 19.2%, to total just under 400 million.<\/p>\n
“Perhaps not a tiding of joy in the traditional sense but for those who believe in the benefits that the internet and in particular fast internet brings then it’s a plus,” says Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst at Point Topic.<\/p>\n
Recent quarters show growth is slowing in many regions. Some countries in Western Europe and Asia Pacific in particular are in danger of actually shrinking but the slack has been taken up by new challengers for the broadband crown.<\/p>\n
Who are the winners?<\/strong><\/p>\n “China is now the largest broadband country in the world, with 81 million subscribers at the end of September and the country is accelerating away from the newly deposed USA now in second place,” says Vanier.<\/p>\n Brazil is a new entry in the top ten broadband countries in the world, adding over 600,000 new lines to move ahead of Spain and within striking distance of Canada which it will pass before the end of the year.<\/p>\n “Russia is another country on the up,” says Vanier, “as are Mexico, India, Argentina, Vietnam, Colombia and Greece all of whom are now growing at least 10 times as fast as Japan in broadband terms.”<\/p>\n This rapid reversal of the old order, where first mover countries flew ahead of the pack has a number of causes.<\/p>\n “Saturation is the answer in many countries. In South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong for example there are only a limited number of houses without broadband, so net additions are low. What is happening in those markets is technology substitution where consumers are ditching their DSL lines and moving to fibre where it’s available,” says Vanier.<\/p>\n Coupled with a global downturn where many of the developed countries are entering recession, saturation accounts for the slowdown in broadband growth. Advanced and secondary emerging economies aren’t immune to market conditions but all that has happened so far is that perhaps some of the edge has been taken off their numbers.<\/p>\n “It’s difficult to tell, growth in the US has halved over the last 12 months while in India its gone from 15% a quarter to 18% a quarter in the same period. So while the downturn has an effect on broadband growth it seems that its worst effects are mitigated by the sheer pace of adoption,” says Vanier.<\/p>\n “We expect to see continued downward pressure on growth rates in the coming quarters as broadband still teeters on the boundary between necessity and discretionary spend but globally it will still grow even in these darker times,” concludes Vanier.<\/p>\n Top broadband countries<\/strong><\/p>\n The following table provides an overview of the countries with the highest number of broadband subscribers.<\/p>\n Rank <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Country <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Q2 2008 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Q3 2008 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 1 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n China <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 75,768,350 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 80,930,000 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 2 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n USA <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 76,878,195 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 78,745,996 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 3 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Japan <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 29,434,700 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 29,677,900 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 4 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Germany <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 21,711,702 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 22,516,750 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 5 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n France <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 16,646,786 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 17,075,125 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 6 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n UK <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 16,718,400 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 17,039,700 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 7 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n South Korea <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 15,061,659 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 15,264,917 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 8 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Italy <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 11,534,230 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 11,779,650 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 9 <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Canada <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 9,005,181 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n 9,212,465 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n
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