There were an estimated 181.4mn subscribers to broadband services in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2009, up 17.7% from 154.1mn one year previously, according to a new report from SNL Kagan.

The report predicts that the market will continue to grow, increasing from 208.8mn subscribers at the end of 2010 to 352.5mn by 2015, giving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%.  There was "steady growth" for the 12 fixed-line broadband operators the company reviewed, with aggregate quarterly subscriber additions increasing from an average of 4.5mn customers per quarter in 2007 to 6.4mn in 2009.

However, the APAC broadband market is not believed to be completely immune to the recession - outside China and India, Asia's top fixed-line broadband providers suffered a 50.8% decrease in average quarterly subscriber net additions in 2009.  Continued growth last year was driven primarily by China Telecom, China Unicom and India's BSNL.

“Chinese and Indian telco giants have weathered the global financial crisis far better than their regional peers,” said Ben Reneker, Senior Analyst at SNL Kagan.  “Stronger macro-economic fundamentals as well as consumer confidence and high telecommunications market growth potential allowed telcos in these countries to achieve the highest growth rates among the operators surveyed.”