The Japanese broadband market is expected to grow 9 percent during the current fiscal year, to JPY 1.5 trillion. According to a study from Yano Research Institute, reported in The Nikkei Daily, fibre-optic lines will be worth JPY 790 billion this year, up 32 percent, while DSL drops 9 percent to JPY 490 billion and cable broadband declines 4 percent to JPY 220 billion. The broadband market's rate of growth is seen dropping by four points this fiscal year, and projections are for growth of just 4-5 percent from fiscal 2010 on. The total number of subscribers is projected to rise 8 percent to 31.02 million at the end of March 2009. Subscribers to fiber-optic lines are estimated to jump 27 percent to 15.49 million, cable broadband users will climb 6 percent to 4.09 million, and DSL subscriber rolls will decline 10 percent to 11.43 million.

Source:Telecompaper