678.6m broadband connections worldwide

April 9, 2014 11.14 Europe/London By Julian Clover


New figures published by the Broadband Forum shows a steady growth in broadband and IPTV connections.

The figures, prepared by Point Topic, indicate an additional 40 million subscribers in 2013 have taken total broadband lines to 678.6 million worldwide. However, figures are starting to slow as older markets reach saturation point.

Speaking at the Fixed Access Networks Summit in Berlin, Germany (8-10 April 2014), Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh said: 'These figures for 2013 give an extremely interesting picture both regionally and in terms of the changes in technology choices as some markets reach saturation and others start their digital journey. They are a great illustration of the 'second age of broadband access,' with existing customers demanding more bandwidth and operators introducing new technologies.'

The figures show that copper-based technologies (DSL, ADSL and ADSL2plus) continue to be dominant, although fiber-based technologies (which include VDSL and VDSL2) are taking a firmer grip and ' with growth rates of 17.6% overall.

China remains at the top of the table with over 192 million subscribers at the end of the year, having added over 3 million new subscribers in Q4 alone. Both Russia and Brazil are likely to continue to move up the league table and Mexico is likely to displace India during the first half of 2014.

Top 10 Countries, by broadband penetration



Country


Subscribers Q4 2013



China (All Territories)


192,015,484



United States


95,203,107



Japan


35,779,190



Germany


30,267,477



Russian Federation


25,365,452



France


24,905,000



United Kingdom


22,782,100



Brazil


21,276,500



South Korea


18,760,623



India