Growth rate to 50 million! Global Gigabit Broadband Subscribers Expected to Increase Significantly in 2022

Global gigabit broadband subscriptions are expected to jump to 50 million by 2022, more than double the 24 million at the end of 2020, according to a new report from market research firm Omdia.

Peter Boyland, principal analyst for broadband at Omdia, said: "Demand for reliable broadband will drive growth in gigabit services, with fibre networks playing a key role. Omdia said the acceleration in the deployment of fiber optic networks is helping to drive the increase in gigabit connections. The analysts wrote: At the end of 2020, there were less than 620 million fibre network subscribers worldwide, but we expect this number to rise to 719 million in 2022. Most of this fiber subscriber growth will occur in the Chinese market.

At the end of 2020, the number of FTTH/B consumer subscriptions worldwide was just under 618 million, accounting for about 58% of total broadband connections. We expect this number to grow by more than 100 million to 719 million in 2022, representing 62% of total broadband subscriptions, Omdia wrote.

However, Omdia warned that service providers must "carefully consider market needs" to implement their gigabit network strategy and make targeted investments in fibre networks. Omdia wrote: Service providers need to carefully plan and execute gigabit network deployments, analyzing a range of factors including infrastructure challenges, market competition and expected demand. At the same time, these actions cannot stop with the rollout of the network - operators need to continuously observe potential competitors and keep innovating, updating and building service offerings to stay ahead of their competitors.

Analysts also pointed to an opportunity for vendors in the market to help service providers build "future-proof" networks. The report suggests that vendors can offer long-term solutions, such as monitoring and automation tools, to extend the carrier/vendor relationship beyond network deployments.

Of course, another big factor driving the growth of all these fiber networks and gigabit connections is the Covid-19 pandemic, which is about to enter its third year, and continues to fuel demand for high-speed broadband everywhere, from remote work and education to telemedicine. and safe entertainment.

In fact, analysts say the most important thing for consumers is reliable service. According to Omdia's Digital Consumer Insights survey, 36% of respondents said their reliance on broadband services has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 55% said reliability ranks ahead as the most important feature of home broadband.

Both gigabit broadband and fiber-optic network growth will impact broadband speeds for years to come. According to Omdia, in 2020, only 2% of broadband subscribers signed up for gigabit broadband service, but this proportion is expected to double to 4% in 2022.

In addition, the report said the number of 500 Mbit/s-1 Gbit/s broadband subscribers will increase from 15% in 2020 to 21% in 2022, and 17% of broadband subscribers are expected to reach 1 Gbit/s by 2026. speed above s.

It’s worth noting that while high-bandwidth entertainment use cases such as AR/VR were cited as the driver of rising home broadband speeds prior to the pandemic, the Omdia report made little mention of the role these services played in the growth of gigabit services, only citing They are called "other drivers".