Asia leads world broadband growth

The number of fixed broadband lines in the world grew by 2.9 per cent or 15.2 million subscribers in the first quarter to a total 540.63 million, according to research by Point Topic for the Broadband Forum.
The figures released at the Communicasia trade show in Signapore show growth is the strongest in Asia, which grew by 3.9 per cent in the three months and 16.2 per cent year-on-year to 226.44 million fixed broadband subscribers at the end of March.
The Middle East and Africa region followed with 2.4 per cent quarterly growth and 11.5 per cent annual growth to 16.50 million subscribers. Europe grew by two per cent sequentially and 0.2 per cent annually to 159.774 million subscribers, and the Americas were up by 2.3 per cent versus fourth quarter and 8.6 per cent year-on-year to 137.97 million.
Worldwide, this is the strongest growth since late 2009. It's due in part to demand for broadband in China, which accounted for 42 per cent of net additions in first quarter. Growth in broadband supports IPTV as well, which grew by 6.4 per cent in the quarter and 34 per cent in the past year to 43.2 million users at the end of March.
France remains the largest market with over 10.6 million IPTV customers, followed by China with 9.8 million. In terms of access technologies, fibre continues to grow the fastest, expanding by 5.8 per cent in the three months to 76.2 million lines.
DSL remains the most common access method, up by 2.3 per cent to 341.6 million users, followed by cable with 108.8 million broadband lines, up by 2.8 per cent from the end of 2010. The figures included fixed wireless for the first time, which had 9.5 million broadband users at the end of March.

GCC cut roaming rates by another 30 per cent
KATHMANDU: GCC countries will cut regional roaming rates by 30 per cent in July. A meeting of Gulf telecommunications regulators in Abu Dhabi agreed to implement the second cut in prices, after an earlier 30 per cent cut in September 2010, the UAE regulator announced. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE. The meeting also discussed the transition to digital broadcasting in the region, service charges among Arab countries and other cross-border issues.