According to Point Topic, " World broadband lines reached 164m as of 31 March 2005, an increase of 52m lines since March 2004 last year - with 28m lines added in the last 6 months alone. The USA is still the world's largest broadband country with 36.5m lines, and China remains in second place with 28.3m lines. The UK is leading growth in the 'G7 Rankings' achieving a 16.5 percent increase in lines since end-2004, and adding over 1m lines in the process. France was the only other G7 country passing 10 percent growth in the quarter - achieving 13.5 percent growth and adding an equally impressive 913,000 lines in the quarter. 'Top 10' growth is dominated by Eastern Europe and a mixture of Latin American and Asia Pacific countries. Turkey led the rankings overall, achieving 37 percent growth in the quarter, adding 179,000 lines. Poland led the Eastern European countries, achieving 24 percent growth and becoming the first Eastern European country to pass 1m lines. Australia continued to impress, achieving 18 percent growth to reach 1.8m lines in the quarter. In South Korea, the broadband market continues its path to saturation, having achieved only 1.4 percent growth in the quarter. Other countries, especially the established 'early adopters' such Taiwan and even Japan are showing modest growth - less than 5 percent in the quarter."
The world of eCommerce payments has evolved. As we look toward the latter half of this decade, we're witnessing a transformation in how digital commerce operates, with a clear shift toward localized payment solutions within a global marketplace. The numbers tell a compelling story. According to Juniper Research's latest analysis, global eCommerce transactions are set to reach $11.4 trillion by 2029, marking a 63 percent increase from $7 trillion in 2024. This growth isn't just about volume – it's about fundamental changes in how people pay for goods and services online. Perhaps most striking is the projected dominance of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs), which are expected to account for 69 percent of global transactions by 2029, with 360 billion transactions processed through these channels. eCommerce Payments Market Development What makes this shift particularly interesting is how it reflects the democratization of digital commerce. Traditional card-based systems ar...