China to lead the broadband world
China will overtake the US next year to become the world's largest broadband internet market, analysts have forecast.
The number of broadband subscribers in China is growing at a staggering 79 per cent annually, and will reach 79 million in 2007, consulting firm Ovum predicted in research released today.
Recent estimates from Leichtman Research suggest that the number of broadband connections in the US, currently the world's largest market, is around 51 million.
Ovum's predictions are in line with those from other researchers. In-Stat estimated recently that the number of broadband households in China will reach 130 million by 2010.
Ovum's estimates put the size of the market slightly higher, at 139 million. According to other researchers, this will be approximately half of Asia's entire broadband audience at that time.
"We believe that China's broadband development will continue to benefit from a booming economy, growing incomes, expanding PC penetration and new applications such as VoIP and IPTV. The Olympics will provide another boost," said Kevin Lee, a senior analyst at Ovum's Hong Kong office.
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