Brazil powers past 25mn broadband subs
Brazilian appetite for broadband connections shows no signs of waning, according to Cisco’s latest Broadband Barometer, which found that there were 25.5mn fixed broadband connections in Brazil offering speeds of 2 Mbps and over by the end of 2012.
The study, based on findings by US market research firm IDC, found that the number of these connections (dubbed ‘Broadband 2.0’) rose 11.5% between January and June 2012, almost three times as fast as slower ‘Broadband 1.0’ lines, which totalled 9.2mn connections.
Cisco’s study predicts that Brazil will have over 39.2mn broadband connections by 2016, of which fixed-line connections will account for 69.3% and mobile will represent 31.5%. Two-thirds of all fixed broadband connections will offer speeds above 2 Mbps.
“The Barometer 2.0 is a solid basis for the broadband debate,” said Anderson A. André, director of Service Provider, Cisco Brazil. “Brazil should be targeting an increase in broadband speeds and quality, and everyone should be shouldering this responsibility: the government, operators and technology companies.”
In terms of access technologies, xDSL continues to dominate the market with a 65.9% market share, while cable represents 29.7% of all fixed connections. These two technologies will continue to dominate the Brazilian market over the next few years, although more advanced technologies like fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) are growing, says Cisco.
The study predicts that recent industry regulations should eliminate market concentration, attracting new competitors, boosting the triple play market in Brazil and helping to increase broadband penetration. Consumer spending and business should further benefit from major upcoming events in 2014 and 2016 such as the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
