According to an Ovum, FTTH and FTTB combined is forecasted to surpass DSL’s wireline broadband in the Asia-Pacific region by 2014.

In the independent study, Ovum’s principal analyst and study co-author said “Ending 2010, four economies in Asia-Pacific had more than 25% household penetration. South Korea, followed by Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan tops the list”.

Also evident in the study was a low household penetration from China, FTTH/B subscribers’ base reflecting Japan’s 2010 end of year figure.

“Despite a very low household penetration of only 4%, China will take first place for FTTH/B subscriber base, which will exceed 74 million in 2014, representing almost 60% of the FTTB/H subscriber base in the 16 economies”.

FTTH/B growth rates were also noted across the economies, as government policies, broadband initiatives and population characteristics influence it. The top four will continue to experience FTTH/B growth, although at a slower rate, while other economies continue to grow in both FTTH/B and mobile broadband.

“Varying growth patterns across the different countries in Asia-Pacific are seen, reflecting the diversity of the region.  For example, Australia’s FTTx CAGR from 2010 to 2014 will be very high (180%) as they are starting from a low base and have plans for significant investment (National Broadband Network), while Japan’s growth  will be lower (9%) since its existing base is very high,” Kunstler concluded.