Networked Broadband Households to Top 160 Million & Network-Connected Devices to Approach 1 Billion by 2010 -- According to new research from The Diffusion Group, global home network adoption is expected to grow from 35 million in 2004 to more than 162 million in 2010. This growth will be fueled in large part by broadband service providers who are beginning to push combined modem/networking solutions known as residential gateways (RGWs) into the homes of new broadband subscribers. TDG also forecasts that the number of network-connected devices will grow from 108 million in 2004 to just under 1 billion by 2010, growing from an average of approximately three networked devices per household in 2004 to approximately six devices by 2010. Despite the relatively tepid pace of global network adoption, home network penetration is nonetheless expected to reach millions of homes in Asia, Europe, and North America via service provider push strategies. Such push strategies will help drive significant network penetration in a number of countries.
There is a pivotal shift within the global smartphone market. Recent data from IDC highlights a more cautious outlook for 2025, with projected worldwide smartphone shipments seeing a significantly reduced growth rate. This revised forecast underscores the intricate interplay of global economic factors and geopolitical dynamics on pervasive personal communication devices. IDC's latest update projects a mere 0.6 percent growth in worldwide smartphone shipments for 2025, a stark reduction from the earlier 2.3 percent expectation. Global Smartphone Market Development This recalibration is largely attributed to prevailing economic uncertainties, including inflationary pressures and rising unemployment, alongside the persistent specter of tariff volatility. Despite these global tensions, it's interesting to note that the United States and China are still identified as the primary drivers of this modest growth. China, a critical market, is forecast to achieve a 3 percent year-over-yea...