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DSL broadband boom hits
Asia
China added 1.985 million
broadband digital subscriber line (DSL) subscribers
during 2002, a massive 845 percent growth in the year,
according to figures prepared by London-based analyst
firm Point Topic for the international DSL Forum. As a
result, China is now No 5 on the global list of
subscriber numbers at 2.22 million.
The top 10
countries in the world for broadband DSL subscribers
account for 86 percent of the world's total at the end
of 2002 of 35.9 million. Those countries are led by the
United States, where broadband DSL was first deployed on
a large scale, at 6.45 million and South Korea at 6.43
million.
China's growth in broadband DSL
subscriber numbers was third-largest in the world
tables. Japan led with more than 4.1 million subscribers
added in 2002, followed by the US, adding more than 2
million.
The South/Southeast Asia region now
accounts for 7 percent of global broadband DSL
subscribers over ordinary telephone lines at 2.652
million. The region's growth in the year was greater
than any other at 322 percent.
Western Europe
enjoyed an annual growth of 121 percent compared with
global growth of 90 percent and at 9.37 million
subscribers. It is now second only to Asia-Pacific (14.5
million) when it comes to subscribers to broadband DSL.
North America is the third-largest region, with 8.177
million subscribers, followed now by South/Southeast
Asia.
South Korea continues to hold first place
in global rankings of DSL penetration of main phone
lines - the industry's key indicator of the market. More
than 28 percent of South Korea's main phone lines
provide an always-on, high-speed broadband DSL
connection to the electronic world. Taiwan takes the No
2 slot at 15.76 percent, with Hong Kong in third place
at 10.29 percent market penetration of main phone lines.
Commenting on the new figures, Tom Starr,
president of the international DSL Forum, said: "It is
good to see countries from most regions of the world now
well represented in this top-10 list for broadband DSL
deployment, all with more than 6 percent of their main
telephone lines delivering DSL.
"South Korea has
already achieved a mass market with 28.33 percent of
main phone lines delivering broadband DSL. Our target is
a global mass market for DSL - at least 20 percent
penetration of phone lines - as the most efficient means
of providing broadband benefits to homes and small or
medium-sized businesses. More than 1 billion telephone
lines around the world provide a robust, core global
infrastructure capable of delivering broadband DSL. With
that utility already in place, DSL is simply the most
effective and economical route to global broadband
deployment, achieving the mass market that governments
around the world have identified as an essential element
in continuing development and competitiveness," he
added.
In percentage terms, Portugal was the
fastest-growing broadband DSL market in 2002 at 1,658
percent growth. Lithuania, Mexico and Russia all
exceeded 1,000 percent growth in the year, all starting
from a low deployment base at the end of 2001.
Tim Johnson of industry analyst firm Point Topic
said: "It's very encouraging to see how the rollout of
DSL is spreading across the world. Each region and
country in turn is making DSL a high-volume product.
Many countries are now reaching the level of take-up,
which was seen only in South Korea two years ago.
Broadband technologies such as DSL are now reaching the
critical mass needed to support the rapid development of
broadband services, content and applications."
Starr commented: "With 52 countries now having
DSL technology in commercial deployment, broadband
subscriptions are growing in every one of them while
dial-up Internet access subscriptions are beginning to
decline. DSL is rapidly becoming the 'must have' service
for householders and small or medium-sized businesses
around the world. DSL is already the leading broadband
technology in the world even.
"Developments such
as ADSL2, ADSL2+ and SHDSL are now in trials or starting
to become available commercially in a number of
countries. Together they will give service providers and
end users even greater benefits such as longer reach,
higher speeds and wider service choice in what is
already the fastest growing sector in
telecommunications," Starr added. ADSL stands for
asymmetric digital subscriber line; SHDSL is single-line
high-bit-rate digital subscriber line.
To
facilitate that global mass market for DSL, the DSL
Forum develops technical best practice for network
management, equipment interoperability and automated
configuration work. Copies of the Forum's Technical
Reports are available at www.dslforum.org. Its equipment
interoperability testing plan for ADSL, the most
prevalent DSL technology so far available around the
world, is referenced in the new International
Telecommunications Union standard for ADSL2 that will
help extend the reach of broadband.
DSL Forum
is a consortium of about 200 leading industry players
covering telecommunications, equipment, computing,
networking and service provider companies.
(DSL Forum)
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