Gartner Says 17 Countries to Surpass 60 Percent Broadband Penetration into the Home...

Gartner Says 17 Countries to Surpass 60 Percent Broadband Penetration into the Home by 2012

STAMFORD, Conn.--(Business Wire)--
Worldwide consumer broadband connections will grow from 323
million connections in 2007 to 499 million in 2012, according to
Gartner, Inc. Worldwide consumer broadband connections penetrated 18
percent of households in 2007, and by 2012, households with a
broadband connection will reach 25 percent.

Five countries exceeded 60 percent broadband penetration into the
home in 2007; and, this is expected to grow to 17 countries by 2012.
The five countries with broadband penetration into the home above 60
percent are Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, South Korea and Hong
Kong (see Table 1).

"Depending on the specific market conditions, availability of
Internet-enabled devices and the continued impact of broadband on
consumer lifestyles, we expect some markets will have a broadband
ceiling at 80 percent penetration or greater," said Amanda Sabia,
principal research analyst at Gartner.

The high penetration rates seen in countries such as South Korea,
Hong Kong and the Netherlands demonstrate what is possible under the
right conditions. The small, denser countries, or countries with
government-backed spending for broadband infrastructure, have an
advantage. As a result, by 2012, these countries will have maintained
their lead in broadband penetration rates.

"Broadband penetration will increase, especially in the
geographically larger markets, as current broadband providers continue
to deploy their services, as newer technologies (wireless broadband,
such as WiMAX) attract subscribers, and as users experience firsthand
how speed enhances their Internet sessions," Ms. Sabia said.

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*T
Table 1
Markets with Highest Broadband Penetration of Households, 2007 and
2012 (Percent)
Country 2007 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------
South Korea 93.0 97.0
Netherlands 74.0 82.0
Hong Kong 76.0 81.0
Canada 65.0 79.0
United States 54.0 77.0
Japan 54.0 77.0
Switzerland 69.0 76.0
Singapore 57.0 75.0
United Kingdom 58.0 74.0
Taiwan 59.0 74.0
France 58.0 73.0
Australia 52.0 72.0
Sweden 58.0 69.0
Spain 54.0 68.0
Germany 49.0 68.0
Belgium 55.0 66.0
New Zealand 43.0 64.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Gartner (July 2008)
*T

When looking at household penetration for emerging versus mature
markets, the overall growth is skewed. Not only will the digital
divide continue between the emerging and mature markets, it will widen
by 13 percentage points.

The top three markets of South Korea, the Netherlands and Hong
Kong are already heavily penetrated so the change in penetration rates
is minimal compared with markets such as the United States, Japan,
Czech Republic, New Zealand and Australia. These markets will exhibit
a swelling of broadband penetration by more than 20 percentage points.
Growth in broadband adoption is dependent on specific market
conditions, availability of Internet-enabled devices and the continued
impact of broadband on consumer lifestyles.

"Consumers in heavily penetrated markets are already addicted to
broadband, thus the future in these markets is less concerned with
increasing subscriber numbers, and more with addressing what new
applications and/or content will be transmitted over this pipe," Ms.
Sabia said. "Newer ventures in these markets are primarily
entertainment (such as Internet video content and games), Internet
Protocol television (IPTV) and home networking, which will bring these
devices and services into one integrated system within the home."

Gartner defines mature markets as the United States, Canada,
Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain,
France, Italy, Germany and the rest of Western Europe, South Korea,
Hong, Kong, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand.
Gartner defines emerging markets as Malaysia, China, Thailand,
Philippines, India, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the
rest of Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

Additional information is available in the Gartner report
"Dataquest Insight: Consumer Broadband, Global Penetration Rates and
Growth Prospects." This report is available on Gartner's Web site at
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=723508&subref=s
implesearch. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted
into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if
one exists.)

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information
technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the
technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right
decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations
and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom
enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors,
Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000
distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research,
Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events,
Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the
business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in
1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and
has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and
consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit
www.gartner.com.

Gartner, Inc.
Christy Pettey, +1 408-468-8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008