The residential market for broadband access will be worth around $88 billion by 2007, an estimated sevenfold increase in revenue over the next five years.
Industry consultancy ARC Group estimates that by 2007 almost 300 million business and residential premises worldwide will be wired up to broadband. By 2007, broadband will become the norm rather than the exception, ARC forecasts.
DSL will account for almost a third of all connections closely followed by cable. Satellite, fibre and fixed wireless will all represent a smaller proportion of the market "due to cost and availability factors", according to ARC.
Tim Page, author of ARC Group"s strategic report Broadband Access 2002, noted that some operators in the States have recently gone bust, but the long-term future is bright, and that the market will be highly competitive, he says.
Speaking particularly about the UK, Page said: ""A fierce price war will be inevitable, fuelled by BT"s reduction in DSL wholesale price. This will result in a more competitive consumer proposition".
"There are positive signs that the broadband industry is starting to take off with the launch of self install DSL and competitive "triple-play" packages of voice, data and digital television."