DSL Still the Top Broadband Technology, as Fiber Gains Ground in Asia

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DSL Still the Top Broadband Technology, as Fiber Gains Ground in Asia

7:05 am on October 23, 2006 | Category: Business, Telecom Services, Internet

DSL continues to be the most popular broadband technology in a survey of 28 developed countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

About 63% of broadband subscribers in OECD countries currently use some type of Digital Subscriber Line technology, the research suggests. A further 29% (mostly in the U.S. and Canada) use cable modems, while 8% use other technologies, such as fiber optic cables or Wi-Fi.

In terms of fiber optic adoption, East Asian countries are still well ahead of North America, with over 6.3 million FiOS broadband connections now active in Japan. As fiber optic internet connections become more and more readily available to Japanese and Korean customers, many are actually ditching their DSL subscriptions in favor of the newer and more dynamic technology.

U.S. telecom giants like Verizon and AT&T are expecting a similar trend to develop in North America in the coming years, as they spend billions of dollars on the deployment of FTTH (fiber to the home) internet technology.