Broadband continues to grow

Broadband grew by 16.6 million lines globally in the first quarter of the year — 3 million of which were in North America — according to the Broadband Forum. Even with the economy causing many operators to rein in spending, broadband was able to buck trends with strong growth throughout the quarter.

The Forum and industry analysts Point Topic found that globally broadband lines now top 429.2 million, with growth in the first quarter slightly up from the previous three months. North America, in particular, grew 3.87% to more than 93.5 million but was outpaced by 20 other countries that each saw more than 10% growth in the same time period.

Broadband has become the norm in the modern lifestyle, said Tom Starr secretary of the Broadband Forum. Countries that were slow to get off the ground with broadband are catching up with the early adopters, but growth is occurring in both regions, he said, noting that broadband providers not only are adding more lines but faster lines as well.

“If you think back to when the deployment of broadband really became a major factor in a lot of countries, that was 15 years ago,” Starr said. “Over every one of those 15 years, we have seen strong sustained growth, and that continues through to the most recent report year — the strong growth continues. To do that over a 15-year period and to reach where we are now, with 429 million served around the world — I think that is remarkable. And, of course, we expect that to continue.”