Belgian Sees Internet Growth in Broadband Uptake

Belgium maintains 2.3 million Internet connections in Q2 this year according to the Internet Service Providers Association Belgium (ISPA). While the new accounts mark 2.5 percent growth for the country and new broadband products are available, overall growth of broadband connections remains limited.

The residential market saw a greater portion of new accounts. Home users account for 1.92 million total accounts, a 2.7 percent increase in the quarter. Broadband uptake domestically saw a 3.6 percent increase. Broadband now accounts for 88 percent of residential connections.

New Internet accounts in the business market were mainly users who switched to broadband, which now covers 96 percent of all business Internet connections in Belgium. Switching from dial-up to broadband service caused a 2.81 percent drop in legacy dial-up accounts. The business sector totals 429,744 connections, a 1.4 percent increase over the previous quarter.

Data are derived from an ISPA survey of ISPs. Respondents include Belgacom, Brutele, Clearwire, Colt, Easynet, EDPnet, Evonet, Interoute, Mobistar, Perceval, Proximedia, Scarlet, Signpost, Tele2/Versatel, Telenet, UPC and Verizon.