According to data published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) in Japan, the number of broadband connections in the country rose to 26.44 million by the end of March this year, from around 23.3 million at the end of March 2006. The MIC said that an increasing number of users are opting for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) alternatives instead of DSL. In the three months to end-March 222,668 DSL lines were lost, compared to a net gain of 863,499 connections for FTTH. Cable TV operators added 42,550 new users and fixed wireless access (FWA) just 52. At the close of the first quarter, 8.8 million people (33%) connected to the internet via fibre, 14.01 million had a DSL line (53%), 3.61 million used a cable modem (14%), and the remainder (11,632, or less than one percent) used FWA.
The MIC reports data on the country’s broadband market as mandated by the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business (Ministerial Ordinance of MPT No. 46 of 1988).