Fiber Surpasses DSL Globally in 2016, Kagan Says

Fiber surpassed DSL as the world's largest fixed-broadband platform in 2016, said Kagan research Thursday. The researcher surveyed 80 fixed-broadband markets. Fiber subscriptions grew 56 percent year-over-year, driven mainly by rapid deployment in Asia, Kagan said. The global fixed-broadband market could reach 1 billion subscribers by 2022, a 5.2 percent compound annual growth rate over five years, said Kagan. China and the U.S. are the largest fixed-broadband markets, combining for 46.9 percent of the total in 2016, it said. The U.S. has 12.2 percent of the global total; China is first with 34.7 percent. In 2016, China expanded its fixed-broadband market by 46 percent as it deployed fiber through a national broadband project, the firm said.