Nearly one billion broadband subs expected by 2018
The number of broadband subscribers worldwide will increase by around 50 per cent over the next five years to reach 940 million by the end of 2018, with Asia-Pacific driving much of this growth according to new figures from UK research firm Point Topic.
This is lower than previous estimates from Point Topic, due to low fixed internet penetration in the developing world, although the one billion subscriber mark is expected to be reached (and exceeded) by the end of the decade.
By the end of 2018, South and East Asia is expected to have the greatest volume of broadband subscribers by some distance – around 340 million compared to the 150 million expected for Western Europe, the next-largest market.
Point Topic forecasts that Asia’s subscriber numbers will grow by 70 per cent over the next five years, due mainly to strong growth in Indonesia and Thailand.
