Fixed Broadband continues to provide the foundation for Asia’s Telecoms market

Fixed broadband continues to underpin the delivery of internet services to households and businesses. Fixed broadband penetration across the entire Asian region has increased from 7% in 2012 to 11% going into 2018.

There is now increasing access to fixed broadband, both DSL, cable modem platforms and more recently fibre access (FttX) which offer much faster speeds as operators try to gain customers. Fibre-based fixed broadband services have taken on a major significance in a number of Asian countries and are shaping to define the broadband market of the future.

From a global perspective, Asia continues to be a leading player, not only in the roll-out of broadband infrastructure, but also in promoting and applying the increased use of broadband to facilitate the digital economy. In particular, Asia continues to be the dominant player globally in the FttX broadband market, with countries such as South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, all world leaders in this market.

While China leads the region’s fixed broadband market by virtue of its sheer numbers, some of the region’s smaller markets that are setting the pace with policy initiatives, innovative infrastructure projects and the rapid expansion of online usage.

Asia Fixed broadband penetration is expected to only increase modestly in these markets over the next few years to 2023, while the growth will come from the less developed markets such as India. However, penetration rates are never expected to reach the high levels seen in the more mature developed nations as developing nations have typically bypassed fixed line access and moved directly to mobile access.

Asia is arguably the world’s most diverse region with regards to its telecoms industry. The region contains a vast array of countries, ranging from those with highly mature and advanced telecommunications markets, that are world leaders in the move towards 5G, such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, to some of the poorest and least developed countries such as North Korea and Afghanistan.