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ABI Research predicts surge in fixed broadband revenues
Fixed-line broadband revenues are set to reach 7 billion by 2016, according to ABI Research.
The technology market intelligence firm's latest Broadband Carrier Market Data report claimed revenues will rise to 1 billion in 2012, before climbing to 7 billion by 2016.
Broadband network operators enjoyed strong growth in 2011, ABI revealed, with all fixed platforms - DSL, cable and optical fibre - seeing "significant" subscriber additions. The DSL customer base actually declined in some nations with high uptake of the technology, but this was offset by the rise in fibre optic broadband connections.
Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst for broadband at the organisation, said fibre optic broadband has grown "rapidly" in recent years, driven by the increasing popularity of bandwidth-heavy applications.
"Consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on a number of data-intensive services such as high-definition online video services, IPTV and online gaming," she commented.
To capitalise on the success of these services, many network operators are upgrading their infrastructure, with some even opting to completely replace their existing copper broadband cables with fibre-to-the-home technology or offering faster VDSL services, ABI noted. Last year, almost five per cent of DSL customers were able to take advantage of VDSL.
In order to keep pace with the growth of fibre broadband, cable operators are "aggressively" upgrading their networks to offer super-fast connectivity via DOCSIS 3.0. Germany's Kabel Deutschland and US internet service providers Comcast and Time Warner were among the firms named by ABI as supporting DOCSIS 3.0, although the technology is also the current standard on Virgin Media's network.
Last July, Virgin Media announced it had used DOCSIS 3.0 to deliver what it described as the "world's fastest cable broadband", offering speeds of up to 1.5Gbps to London's Old Street area - known as Silicon Roundabout.