India is set to move to the top ten broadband countries in 2012, said Broadband Forum, an NGO focusing on engineering faster broadband connections. In a report released on Wednesday, the forum said India achieved a growth rate of 24.5% in 2011 and had about 13.3 million subscribers.
"Demand in India is increasing rapidly, particularly as more coverage and competitive pricing has meant that much of the urban population now has the chance to access the Internet via broadband," said Robin Mersh, CEO, Broadband Forum. "The main impediments still remain cost and 'urban vs rural' divide, which is of course, still an issue. Service providers in India, however, are beginning to address the rural opportunity with a number of projects driven by highly innovative and active companies and government support."
Broadband and IPTV growth spiked to a high in 2011 with rates higher than at any time in the last five years, according to year-end figures published by the Broadband Forum. Overall, broadband growth is estimated at 65,493,596 lines, bringing the global total to 597,322,636, a quarterly increase of 2.6% and an annual growth rate of 12.3%.
"This is an exciting return to higher growth figures and points to a strengthening in the broadband market," added Mersh. "With a number of new markets coming online, we are seeing broadband move into the daily lives of more and more people the world over."
{{/usCountry}}"This is an exciting return to higher growth figures and points to a strengthening in the broadband market," added Mersh. "With a number of new markets coming online, we are seeing broadband move into the daily lives of more and more people the world over."
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