The number of worldwide consumer broadband connections
will reach 364 million by 2010, according to analyst firm
Gartner.
At the end of 2005, 12% of households worldwide had a broadband
connection, and by 2010, Gartner estimates that figure will reach
21%.
The mature market segment of Asia/Pacific and Japan will
continue to account for nearly 40% of worldwide broadband
connections. In this region, Gartner predicts that three-quarters
of households will have broadband connections by 2010, compared
with around half of North American and Western European
households.
“The rapid rise in consumer broadband penetration in recent
years has been largely driven by price cuts of more than 10% a year
as well as increased service speeds,” said Susan Richardson, an
analyst at Gartner.
In that time broadband has become one of the key revenue
generators for operators, helping to counter declining revenue from
services such as traditional voice and legacy data services.
However, said Richardson, as penetration in some markets heads
towards saturation point, telecom carriers are facing up to the
fact that a continued focus on acquiring new customers will not be
enough to make price cutting profitable in the future.
New broadband services, such as video on demand, will be needed
to generate extra revenues.
The analyst said broadband has achieved mass market penetration
in Western Europe, with France, Germany and the UK leading in terms
of absolute numbers.
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