Broadband booming worldwide: Analyst

Budde said the number of broadband subscribers had climbed to more than 100 million this year and the market was set to double over the next 12 months.

The analyst said that household broadband requirements are "doubling every 18 to 24 months". He predicted that by 2010 a quarter of all residential broadband users will require a 10Mb service.

Yet, Budde says a lack of broadband infrastructure is hindering expansion, despite the growing demand for broadband services.

"This is mainly due to the resistance being shown by the incumbent telcos - they want to maximise the life of their existing networks - and to the lack of suitable business models because of their outdated vertically-integrated models," said Budde.

Budde claims that any effort by national governments to speed up the evolving infrastructure has been met with "resistance" from those in office, limiting their success.

However, he says Korea and Japan are an exception and as such lead the world in broadband developments.

Budde also predicts that wireless broadband will "play a crucial part" in future developments.

"By 2010, 15 to 20 percent of broadband connections in markets with well-developed fixed infrastructure will be based on wireless connections. In all the other countries over 50 percent of broadband will be wireless," said Budde.