Total number of fixed broadband subscribers increased by 1.4% to 463 million in the third quarter of 2010, compared to 456.5 million in the second quarter of 2010, and is expected to reach 491 million by 2011, according to a new market data released by ABI Research.
Among the fixed broadband platforms, the major subscriber net addition was in the fibre segment with 2.7 million fibre broadband subscriber net additions in the third quarter of 2010.
In terms of total fibre broadband subscriptions, the Asia-Pacific topped the fibre broadband market representing more than 80% of the global total, followed by North America.
Except some countries such as Sweden, Italy and Norway, fibre broadband adoption in Western Europe lags behind Asia and North America.
ABI Research research associate Khin Sandi Lynn said to provide consumers with advanced services such as high definition movies, video on demand, and other interactive applications, Western European countries will need to improve existing broadband infrastructure to roll out fibre optics.
Geographically, North America and Western Europe have the highest fixed broadband penetration while broadband penetration in Latin America is low compared to other regions of the world.
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Brazil is the largest broadband market in Latin America with almost 20% broadband penetration as its government has made plans to promote broadband access across the country by deploying a national broadband backbone and lowering prices, which have formed one of the barriers to broadband adoption in the country.
Brazilian fixed broadband subscriber numbers are expected to reach 12.7 million by the end of 2011.
