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 [Data December 2006] [Time series] [Graphs]  

OECD broadband statistics portal:   www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband

Over the past year, the number of broadband subscribers in the OECD increased 26% from 157 million in December 2005 to 197 million in December 2006. This growth increased broadband penetration rates in the OECD from 13.5 in December 2005 to 16.9 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants one year later. The main highlights for 2006 are: 

• European countries have continued their advance with high broadband penetration rates. In December 2006, eight countries (Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Korea, Switzerland,  Finland, Norway and Sweden) led the OECD in broadband penetration, each with at least 26 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
• Denmark and the Netherlands are the first two countries in the OECD  to surpass 30 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
• The strongest per-capita subscriber growth over the year comes from Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Ireland. Each country added more than 5.8 subscribers per 100 inhabitants during the past year.
• Operators in several countries continue with their upgrades to fibre. Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and Fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) subscriptions now comprise nearly 7% of all broadband connections in the OECD and the percentage is growing. Korea and Japan each have more than 6 fibre-based broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
• Japan leads the OECD in fibre connections directly to the home with  7.9 million fibre-to-the-home subscribers in December 2006. Fibre subscribers alone in Japan outnumber total broadband subscribers in 23 of the 30 OECD countries.
• The total number of ADSL subscriptions continues to fall in Korea and Japan as more users upgrade to fibre-based connections. 
• DSL continues to be the leading platform in 28 OECD countries. Cable modem subscribers outnumber DSL in Canada and the United States.
• The United States has the largest total number of broadband subscribers in the OECD at 58.1 million. US broadband subscribers now represent 29% of all broadband connections in the OECD.
• Canada continues to lead the G7 group of industrialized countries in broadband penetration
• The breakdown of broadband technologies in December 2006 is as follows:
  - DSL : 62%
  - Cable modem : 29%
  - FTTH/FTTB : 7%
  - Other (e.g. satellite, fixed wireless, powerline communication) : 2%

Key notes on broadand figures for December 2006 :

• Broadband connections included in OECD data must have download speeds equal to or faster than 256 kbit/s. 
• The new FTTH/FTTB category includes fiber-to-the-home subscribers and fiber-to-the-building subscribers who are connected to the fibre in the building via LAN type technologies (e.g. Ethernet). The category does not include VDSL, which is included in DSL figures. 
• The “other” broadband category includes satellite, fixed wireless and power line communications. It does not include 3G mobile technologies. 
• Data is sometimes updated after publication if official figures are available to replace estimates. This can lead to differences in time series data from what may have been published earlier.
• Population data used to calculate “per capita” figures is typically from the previous year. Current-year population data is inserted once it is available and will have an effect on historical data.
  

Data December 2006

Broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, by technology, Dec. 2006

Time Series

Broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, 2001-2006

Graphs

	Broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, by technology, Dec. 2006
	OECD broadband subscriptions, by technology, Dec. 2006
	Broadband subscriber net additions per quarter, millions, OECD
	OECD Broadband penetration (per 100 inhabitants) net increase Q4 2005-Q4 2006, by country
	Broadband penetration, historic, top five OECD countries, Dec. 2006
	Broadband penetration, historic, G7 countries
	Total broadband subscriptions, percentage of OECD, top 5 countries, Dec. 2006
	OECD broadband penetration and population densities
	OECD broadband penetration and GDP per capita