China's broadband growth expected to top US
(internetnews.com)
Updated: 2005-12-25 09:55

At the rate it's going, China will next year surpass the U.S. in new broadband access lines, according to research published by telecommunications research firm Point-Topic Friday.

The figures from the U.K.-based firm's third-quarter report on broadband statistics show the U.S. retained its broadband line growth crown for the first nine months of 2005, with 40.9 million lines added, compared to China's 35 million. Japan ranked third with 20.9 million high-speed lines added.

China, however, added 3.6 million lines in the third quarter of 2005, the report notes, compared to the United States' 2.7 million lines. The U.K. was the third-largest with 900,000 lines.

"At current rates China will overtake the U.S. in [the fourth quarter of 2006] as the largest broadband country in the world," the Point-Topic note states.

Overall the broadband market worldwide expanded the total number of new lines by 37.9 million in the first nine months of 2005.