2017 Asia - Fixed Broadband Market - Statistics and Analyses

North Asian countries lead the fixed broadband market but other Asian nations catching up

South Korea and Japan are the leading two countries in Asia with regards to internet penetration with penetration reaching 91% in 2016. Behind South Korea and Japan are Singapore (84%), Taiwan (83%), Azerbaijan (79%), and Hong Kong (79%). China leads in terms of overall number of internet users in 2016  (730 million), followed by India (290 million), Japan (115 million) and Indonesia (63.1 million).

The expansion of broadband was for a long time a phenomenon limited to the developed economies, with narrowband dial-up access being the norm in the majority of the poorer developing countries of the region. However this has been gradually changing. In those economies, there is now increasing access to broadband, both DSL and cable modem platforms have both proved popular, with DSL establishing a clear advantage. More recently, we have seen the arrival of FttX as an alternative platform for broadband access in Asia. There also continues to be considerable activity in the broadband markets across Asia including amongst the many number of smaller countries such as Azerbaijan, Maldives and Macau.

China leads the fixed broadband market in terms of both overall subscribers and market penetration. Subscribers reached 213 million in 2016 and market penetration reached 53%. Although China boasts the largest number of broadband connections in the world, annual growth rates are subsiding as housing penetration reaches levels indicative of market maturity. China Telecom and China Unicom are the largest suppliers of fixed broadband. Fixed broadband levels in China are expected to continue rise more gradually due to a confluence of factors that includes telecom operators seeking revenue growth, a government seeking to reach ambitious targets, the increasing wealth of end users and digital media giants seeking new audiences.

South Korea holds second place with fixed broadband subscriber penetration of 41% in 2016. The move towards faster speeds and becoming full-service operators is expected to drive further growth. FttX deployments have increased as operators try to gain customers through bundled services such as high-definition IPTV. Broadband subscription rates in South Korea are low at less than US$30 per month for speeds over 100Mb/s.

Hong Kong takes third place with fixed broadband subscriber penetration of 32% in 2016. Broadband subscriber growth in Hong Kong has flattened due to high fixed household broadband penetration and increased product substitution due to higher speed mobile broadband services based on HSPA and LTE.

However, fixed broadband services will continue to grow based on the sheer volume of data traffic as the market shifts from:

• Connecting people to connecting devices;
• Increasing usage of cloud services;
• Increasing bandwidth demands from higher quality HD and 4K streaming services.

Key highlights of the fixed broadband market in Asia in 2016:

• South Korea and Japan are the leading two countries in Asia with regards to internet penetration.
• Behind South Korea and Japan are Singapore, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, and Hong Kong.
• China leads in terms of overall number of Internet users, followed by India, Japan and Indonesia.
• China leads the fixed broadband market in terms of both overall subscribers and market penetration (53%).
• South Korea holds second place with fixed broadband subscriber penetration of 41% in 2016.
• Hong Kong takes third place with fixed broadband subscriber penetration of 32 % in 2016.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Afghan Wireless Communications Company (AWCC); Aircel/Dishnet; AIS; Akhali Kselebi; Akhteli; Alibaba; Altimax; ArmenTel; Astel; ATV; Augere; AzEuroTel; Aztelekom; Bakrie Telecom; BakTelekom (BTRIB); Banglaphone; Bayantel; Bell Telecom; Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL); Bharti Airtel; Bharti Telenet; Bhutan Telecom; Broadband Philippines; BTCL; BTS-Hanoi; Cable Thai (CTH); CAT Telecom; Caucasus Online; CGC; China Mobile; China Network Systems; China Telecom; China Unicom; Chunghwa Telecom; CMC; Dancom Pakistan; Dimension Data; DN khac; DTAC; Ducat/Kazintel; EBay; Facebook; Far Eastone; Fitel; FPT Telecom; GigaMedia; Global Mobile; Globe Telecom; Google; Hanaro Telecom; Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN); HTVC-HCM City; Hulu; Hutchison CAT; Hutchison Global Communications Ltd (HGC); i-Cable; Idea/Spice; J:COM; Jabatan Telekom Brunei (JTB); Jasmine; K+; Kazakhtelecom; KazInformTelecom (KIT); kbro; KDDI; KKBox; K-Opticom; KT; Kyrgyztelecom; LG U+; Liberty Telecom (Wi-Tribe); LinkdotNet; Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL); Meridian Telekoms; Micronet Broadband Ltd (MBL); MobileOne (M1); Mobilink; MyRepublic; Mytel; National Telecommunications Corp (NTC); NayaTel; NetNam; NOW TV; NTT; Orascom; Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd (PTCL); PakNet; PCCW/HKT/CSL; PLDT; PT First Media; PT Indosat; PT Indosat Mega Media; PT Internux; PT Jasnita Telekomindo; PT Telkom; Qualcomm; Qubee; Ranks Telecom; Red River Delta; Reliance Communications; Reliance Infocomm; SaiGonNet; Samart; SCTV; ShinSat/Thaicom; SilkNet; SingTel; SK Broadband; SKY PerfecTV!; Smart Communications; SmarTone; Softbank; Soliton; Spotify; StarHub; Taiwan Broadband Communications; Tata Indicom; Tata Teleservices; Tatung Telecom; TeleCard; Telecom Cambodia; TelkomNet; Telkomsel; Tepco; TOT Corp; Trans World Associates (TWA); True Corp; True Move; TT&T; TVB; UQ Communications; USEN; Vee Telecom; Vega Telecom; Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL); Vietnam Cable TV (VCTV); Vietnam Datacommunications Company (VDC); Vietnam Television Technology Investment and Development Company (VTC); Viettel; Viettel; Vinaphone; Viu; VMAX Telecom; VNPT; Vodafone Essar; VTC; Wateen Telecom (subsidiary of Warid Telecom); WiMAX Telecom; Wi-Tribe; WorldCall; WorldTel Bangladesh.