Broadband subscriptions grew 6.7% during 3Q10, with 14.3 million lines added during the period, according to figures from the Broadband Forum.
The growth took total global broadband subscriptions to 508.7 million, driven by robust increases in users in developing markets including India, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam and the Philippines, which all registered growth of 20% or more in the year to end-September.
While China and the US remain top dogs in terms of the number of lines added, Russia and Brazil are the fastest growing markets, with hikes of 22% and 14% respectively, the Forum states.
Eastern European countries are driving growth in the region, however the Forum notes established western markets also improved during the quarter, which it says could bode well for 2011.
Strong demand for DSL broadband connections in Asia means that technology remains the dominant way of hooking up to the Web, however fixed wireless technologies are also recording “notable growth.”
Oliver Johnson, chief of research firm Point Topic - which collated the figures for the Broadband Forum - said wireless broadband is gaining traction in markets where fixed infrastructure is scarce.
“There has been an increase in access via technologies that don’t require wires of some description all the way to the consumer,” he states.
Growing availability of broadband connections has also boosted the IPTV market, with total global subscriptions growing 36.7% year-on-year to 41.9 million users in 3Q10.
Demand for ITPV is greatest in Europe, which accounted for 46.3% of global subscriptions in the quarter, however Asia Pacific is homing in thanks to strong growth in China, which the Forum tips to overtake European market leader France by the year end.