The growing demand for speedy broadband Internet service in several developing regions will help push the total number of connected users to nearly 950 million by 2015, new research from IHS suggests. According to the firm, 600 million people enjoyed broadband service in 2011.
To explain the pending boom, Lee Ratliff, IHS senior analyst for broadband and digital home, pointed east. Countries such as India and Indonesia will grow their broadband connectivity rates quicker than countries that already offer high-speed service, he said, adding that the subscriber rate increase in Eastern European, African and Middle Eastern countries will be "very fast" over the next few years.
"Global broadband subscriber activity serves as a long-term barometer of the overall health of the broadband industry, as well as an accurate prognosticator of prospects for the space's associated markets in broadband equipment and broadband-related semiconductors," said Ratliff. "With demand for Internet access rising quickly in China as well as in other fast-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, the broadband supply chain is set for strong growth in the coming years."
Ratliff noted that growth across Asia would be "bifurcated." Developed countries such as Japan and Hong Kong won't match the subscription jumps in China, which alone turned in nearly 40 percent of total new broadband users last year, he said.
In America, the analyst said cable providers such as Time Warner and Comcast grabbed more than half of all new broadband subscribers last year as telecoms' growth has "moderated."
