Industry news

Gartner: Broadband internet to boom

Worldwide consumer broadband connections will boom through to 2012, one market analyst has said.

Gartner predicts that 17 countries will surpass 60 per cent broadband penetration over the next four years.

It forecasts demand for bandwidth will soar as the global number of connections grows from 323 million in 2007 to 499 million by 2012.

Global connectivity currently stands at 18 per cent of households and will reach the 25 per cent mark in four years time, according to the predictions.

Amanda Sabia, principal research analyst at the firm, said depending on specific conditions some markets could reach a penetration of 80 per cent.

"Broadband penetration will increase, especially in the geographically larger markets, as current broadband providers continue to deploy their services, as newer technologies [wireless broadband, such as WiMAX] attract subscribers," she added.

The analyst claimed earlier in the week government IT bosses should look into the impact of personal health records and health information exchange programmes.