Broadband growth: Pakistan among top countries
Pakistan has recorded around 46.2 % growth in the number of subscribers and is placed fourth on the list.
Pakistan is ranked among the top countries which registered high growth in broadband internet penetration, a recent report said.
Serbia tops the list with a 68 per cent annual growth rate from Q1-2010 to Q1-2011, according to July 2011 Bandwidth Report with data on worldwide bandwidth penetration.
Pakistan, which has seen a boom in its promising telecom sector and information technology services in recent years, recorded around 46.2 per cent growth in the number of subscribers and is placed fourth on the list.
Thailand and Belarus are ranked second and third, respectively, in terms of broadband internet penetration. Sri Lanka and India are ranked 11th and 14th, respectively.
Pakistan has a large number of bilingual internet users. Its software companies have created a niche in the international market in recent years. According to government figures, the country’s IT-related exports remained $1.4 billion in the last fiscal year.
Experts say that Pakistan’s IT industry has the potential to hit the multi-billion export target within five to 10 years. Additionally, mobile phone and wireless internet usage are also expanding rapidly.
The report shows that China continues to lead the world in terms of total broadband subscribers. As of the first quarter of 2011, China had over 135 million broadband subscribers. It said that the United States had over 88 million subscribers. Japan, Germany and France followed China and the United States in terms of total subscribers, it added.
The figures were cited by Website Optimisation, LLC, which is a leading website optimising firm.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2011.