The global broadband subscriber base grew by 40 million to 678.6 million in 2013, according to the latest figures from the Broadband Forum.
While copper-based technologies continue to dominate broadband connections, fiber-based connections including FTTx and VDSL are the fastest growing, according to data compiled by Point Topic.
Fiber-based connections grew by 17.6% during the year, compared to the 6.1% growth rate for all broadband connections. Subscribers to copper broadband services in fact shrunk by 1.6% during the year – the only decline among the broadband connection technologies.
The global IPTV subscriber base meanwhile grew by 17 million during 2013 to 96 million. This translates to 14.1% of fixed broadband subscribers also taking up an IPTV service.
The figures show that APAC has a far greater share of FTTx subscribers than any other region, making up around 50% of the market.
Greater China has by far the largest number of broadband customers in the world, with 192 million subscribers. The region added over 3 million new subs in Q4 alone. Japan, South Korea and India were the only other Asian nations among the top 10 countries by subscribers.
But emerging markets – including Indonesia and Sri Lanka – dominated the top 10 list of countries by percentage subscriber growth in Q4.
| 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 | 15,490,685 |
Source: Point Topic Q4 2013