The Asia-Pacific region passed two significant milestones in June of this year. According to a report from Informa Telecoms & Media, it exceeded both 150mn digital TV homes and 10mn IPTV households. Despite the global macro-economic difficulties, last year more than 35mn homes in the APAC region upgraded from analogue to digital TV, and 26mn new homes subscribed to pay-TV services, including 14mn to cable TV, 9mn to DTH and 3mn to IPTV. The report predicts that these sectors will continue to grow ‘impressively’ over the next five years. “By 2015 there will be well over 400mn digital TV homes, including 40mn taking IPTV, which in turn will generate revenues of more than US$ 40bn,” said Adam Thomas, media research manager at Informa Telecoms & Media. “There are increasingly positive signs for digital TV in the region. Competition between the platforms is intensifying and this is pushing digital upgrades up the agenda of many operators.” Informa Telecoms & Media is therefore forecasting that a 21% digital TV penetration rate for the region at end-2009 will increase to 54% by the end of 2015. Digital penetration is expected to have reached 100% in four markets (Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore) by 2015, with another four expected to have achieved a penetration rate of 70% or more (Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan).