According to latest figures from Informa Telecoms & Media, the number of IPTV subscribers worldwide reached 19.96mn at the end of 2008, as the number of fibre-to-the-x (FTTx) connections rose by more than 11mn over the 12-month period to reach 48mn by year-end, its highest yearly gain to date. The findings showed an estimated 422mn fixed-line broadband subscribers at the end of 2008, up nearly 68mn year-on-year and adding 16mn in the fourth quarter alone. DSL remains the biggest access technology worldwide, accounting for 65 percent of the total number of fixed-line broadband connections, with FTTx accounting for 11 percent of the total and cable broadband accounting for 21 percent. Growth in FTTx is associated with the ‘strong growth’ in Asia-Pacific, with the region adding 20 percent more subscriptions in 2008. In addition, nine of the world’s ten largest FTTx operators are based in the Asia-Pacific region. China saw its broadband subscriptions grow by 21 percent in 2008 to reach 82mn by year-end, passing the US mid-year to become the world’s largest fixed-line broadband market, though it still has a household penetration level of less than 20 percent.