South Korea has the world's highest number of broadband services per capita. Into 2012 over 35% of the population and 95% of households were broadband subscribers. FttX accounted for 60% of total subscriptions. Korea's policy emphasis is for a UBcN (Ultra Broadband convergence Network) with 1Gb/s speeds on fixed lines or 10Mb/s on wireless by 2012/13. All this is part of a report by international market research and market data firm Research and Markets.
The report provides an overview of South Korea's broadband market, government initiatives and technologies including cable modem, DSL, FttH, Apartment-LAN, and WiBro. VoIP and IPTV statistics are included as well as broadband statistics by technology and broadband forecasts to 2017.
Key Developments highlighted in the report:
- Broadband population penetration over 35% and strong growth of FttH
- BcN targets exceeded by end 2010; UBcN initiatives underway
- WiBro subscribers near the million mark after investments of over KRW 2 trillion
- VoIP subscribers pass the 10 million mark
- Large investments in WiFi for mobile network offload
- IPTV subscriptions take-off
- Cable operators under pressure to share content and reduce pricing
- Both IPTV and cable operators aiming to transition users to digital services and drive up ARPU in the lead up to analogue services being phased out in 2012
Companies covered in this report include SK Broadband, KT, LG U+ and Hanaro Telecom.
