Broadband penetration is growing in the Asia Pacific but investment in equipment to enable consumers to access broadband is lagging, according to a new survey by market researcher Ovum RHK. Ovum predicts there will be 196 million broadband subscribers in the region by the end of 2010, up from 127 million this year, a gain of 15%. By 2010, it forecasts there will be 118.5 million subs connected via DSL, 52.3 million via FTTB/FTTH, 18.5 million cable, and 6.7 million wireless. Spending growth rates on equipment to enable broadband lag the growth rates for broadband subscribers, the survey found. “These observations did not surprise the operators we spoke to, which expect DSL and FTTx (fibre service to either the premises or the curb) equipment price declines to quicken over the next 2-3 years,” said Lynn Hutcheson, Vice President, Communication Components at Ovum RHK. “As one operator put it, ‘We enjoy the fact that we will buy more for less.’”