DSL Tops 78 Million Lines Worldwide

The number of DSL subscribers worldwide exceeded 78 million as of 30-June-2004, up by 30 million in 12 months, according to the latest data produced for the DSL Forum by industry analyst Point Topic.



The DSL Forum noted considerable progress in North America, achieving a 48% subscriber increase, significantly more than the 31% growth in cable and other technologies. In the U.S., DSL has seen a 3% increase in market share with nearly 4 million new subscribers. In Canada, DSL subscribers now account for 48% of the total broadband market. South and East Asia was the fastest growing region for DSL subscribers in the 12 months, with a 110% growth, while the Middle East and Africa showed a 107% increase, and Latin America a rise of 104%. The European Union (EU) has narrowly taken over from Asia Pacific as the number one DSL region, with a total of over 23 million subscribers, around 11 million of them joining the DSL community in the last 12 months.



In parallel, the DSL Forum revealed its new European logo programme as the symbol of a disciplined approach to interoperability testing. Accredited, DSL Forum-recognized independent testing laboratories (ITLs) authorize use of this logo for CPE. http://www.dslforum.org