06/04/2006
European countries are set to over-take South Korea as world leaders in broadband penetration, according to new results from broadband research company Point Topic.
Research from Q4 2005 showed that Denmark and the Netherlands lag only slightly behind South Korea's 25% penetration rate. The average broadband penetration in Western Europe is around 20% according to the study.
The US and China have the most broadband lines in the world, the US having 43.4m and China 37.5m.
The UK laid 1.3m new broadband lines in the final quarter of 2004, taking its total to 6.1m. The UK now lies in seventh place worldwide and in third place in Europe, behind Germany (fifth world-wide) and France (sixth).
Croatia, Morocco and The Philippines had the fastest growing broadband networks, all registering growth of between 240% and 300%.
Source: NMA 06.04.06