The number of broadband lines swelled 3.12% to 484 million lines in Q1, with Asia accounting for over 53% of these additions, according to the Broadband Forum.
China alone accounted for 45% of all global lines added, recording 5.7% quarter-on-quarter growth to close out with 112.6 million subscribers.
Japan trailed only China and the US by number of subscribers, with 31.8 million compared to the US's 87 million, but growth in the market slowed in Q1 compared to the prior quarter.
The only other Asian nation to make it into the top ten, Korea, improved its performance relative to 4Q09, reaching 16.6 million subscribers and comfortably holding on to seventh place.
Overall, six of the top ten countries improved their performance in Q1.
“With all the recent technology advancements and service provider pushes, it is great to see how broadband continues to grow on a global basis,” Broadband Forum COO Robin Mersh said.
The quarter also saw abundant growth in the IPTV market. Subscribers are up a record 46% on a year ago, Broadband Forum said, with 11.4 million new customers added during the 12-month period. There are now around 36.3 million IPTV subscribers worldwide.