Forecast: 5 Million New U.S. Broadband Subs in '09

Despite a challenging economic environment and contracting household budgets, U.S. broadband subscriptions will continue to grow in 2009, according to analyst firm Strategy Analytics. In a report just published, "North America Broadband Forecast: 1H’2009," the firm predicts that U.S. broadband service providers will add 5 million new subscribers during the course of 2009.

"All things considered, we’re still seeing a fairly vibrant consumer Broadband market in the US," said Ben Piper, Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service, in a statement. "Broadband subscriber numbers are expected to grow by a respectable 7 percent in 2009 – a far cry from the double-digit growth of the past, but nonetheless pretty robust in today’s climate."

Fiber (FTTx) is becoming increasingly important and is expected to account for 13 percent of all broadband connections in 2013. Broadband household penetration in the United States is expected to exceed 80 percent in the next five years, according to the report.