South Korea to remain number one for Internet broadband access in 2006

Stuttgart, Germany - 20th January 2003 - InfoCom forecasts that South Korea will continue to lead the way for Internet broadband access population penetration in 2006, with a total penetration of 23.7%, broken down between 8% for cable modems and 15.7% for xDSL connections. The second country is Taiwan, followed by Sweden and then Singapore. In the Top-10 countries, we find the three Asian countries mentioned, five countries from Western Europe, namely the four Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark) plus the Netherlands and finally the USA and Canada. Differences will otherwise remain as to whether cable modem or xDSL is the preferred technology. For instance Singapore will achieve 19% broadband population penetration with 13% for cable modems and 6% for xDSL connections. Other countries with higher rates for cable modems include Canada, Norway, the USA, Finland and the Netherlands i.e. 6 countries out of 10. The respective strengths and weaknesses of local players, especially of the incumbent operator, the role of the local telecom regulators and the age and state of the cable infrastructure will account for these continuing differences between countries.

This market outlook, among several others, comes from Teleseeq, InfoCom's market intelligence solution, available online. Teleseeq provides fundamental market data for the multimedia and telecoms industry in four categories: equipment market, services market, companies’ key figures and socio-economic data. In addition Teleseeq provides company profiles and other customised reports.

About InfoCom

InfoCom is a market research and consultancy company with over 15 years experience providing strategic planning assistance to stakeholders in the telecommunications and multimedia industry. InfoCom’s independent and fact-based perspective on the telecommunications and multimedia environment contributes to decision makers understanding of market dynamics, trends and opportunities in the key markets.