According to ABI research, the global fixed broadband market is expected to reach $251bn by 2018, rising from $188bn in 2012.
The market grew 7% during 2012 over previous year with DSL and cable segment registering respective growth of 2% and 6% while fibre-optic broadband services had the highest growth of 24%.
The fibre-optic broadband segment is expected to grow faster than other broadband sectors during the next five years with revenue reaching $81.6bn. This will account for one-third of global broadband service revenue during the period, the report revealed.
ABI Research core forecasting VP and practice director, Jake Saunders, the decrease in broadband average revenue per user (ARPU)is expected to continue as the majority of operators are trying to offer lower prices to capture a larger market share.
"In some countries like Japan and South Korea, increasing competition from LTE services is expected to pressure fixed broadband operators to offer lower service pricing in the long-term," Saunders said.
ABI Research analyst, Khin Sandi Lynn, said that as more consumers tend to get super-fast broadband , FTTH adoption will continue to grow.
"ABI Research forecast that United States FTTH revenue will reach $4bn at the end of 2013," Lynn said.
In US the fixed broadband market grew from $41bn in 2011 to $43bn in 2012, while the fibre-optic broadband accounted for 7% total broadband revenue.
