The number of DSL customers worldwide has reached more than 200 million, and more than 20 percent live in China, according to the DSL Forum.
Citing figures from analyst Point Topic, DSL Forum COO Robin Mersh said during the Broadband World Forum Asia in Beijing that there has been a 29 percent increase in the number of DSL customers over the last 12 months.
On a global scale, DSL remains by far the most popular broadband access technology and has held on to its market share of more than 65 percent with subscriber numbers increasing by more than 6 percent in the last quarter.
In comparison, the number of subscribers in China rose by 11 percent over the same period, and DSL now accounts for 73 percent of the Chinese broadband market. With more than 43 million of the world's DSL subscribers, China is now the largest provider of DSL-based services.
According to the Point Topic figures referenced by Mersh, the top 10 DSL countries in terms of number of subscribers as of May 2007 are:
Rank Country Number of estimated DSL subscribers
1 China 43,400,000
2 USA 27,510,000
3 Germany 15,665,000
4 France 14,636,000
5 Japan 14,251,000
6 UK 11,025,000
7 Italy 9,017,000
8 Spain 5,755,000
9 South Korea 5,125,000
10 Brazil 4,777,000
For more information, visit: www.dslforum.org.
