China is new broadband giant?
30th September 2008
Still yet to be confirmed it is widely anticipated that China will replace the United States of America (USA) as the largest broadband country in the world.
A focused broadband market research company has monitored the growth of each country, and with the USA’s broadband take up plateauing and the Chinese continuing to choose this type of internet connection at a high rate, they believe quarter three in 2008 (July, August and September) will put China on top.
The USA has seen a decline of 2.3 million in the last 6 months, but during the same period China boasted an increase of 1.5 million. But many interested parties are not that surprised, considering the Chinese outnumber North Americans three to one.
This could spell trouble for the USA broadband market as it has highlighted the issue of lack of choice i.e. ISPs, compared to other continents, are not as plentiful meaning consumers don’t have the same opportunity to get the ‘best deals’.
However, it is not just China that is leaving the USA behind, as leading European and other Asian countries also report vast increases in broadband accessibility.
The key word here is accessibility, the market research does not identify how/why/when the Chinese are using their broadband internet, and whether the online economy is benefitting in the process, although this is probably a ‘no brainer’. We await the quarter three statistics to see if the market research company were right, and China is now leading the way when it comes to broadband take up, and by how much, with bated breath.
