Fibre-optic internet will keep dominating fixed broadband in Asia-Pacific through 2031. according to research firm GlobalData.
Governments and telcos are pushing for faster connections while households are demanding more bandwidth for streaming, gaming and working from home.
Across the region, fibre is becoming the default way people and businesses get wired internet. Copper and cable lines are being retired while new connections are almost entirely fibre.
In mature markets such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, fibre already makes up the vast majority of fixed broadband lines and is expected to reach near-total dominance by the end of the decade.
Fibre cables use light instead of electricity so they can carry much more data over longer distances with less signal loss. This translates into faster, more stable connections that handle multiple 4K streams, video calls, cloud apps, and smart-home devices simultaneously.
Operators are also offering competitively priced fibre plans, often with unlimited data and bundles that include major streaming services, to make switching more attractive.
“The growth in the APAC fixed broadband services market will be led by fibre broadband segment. Fibre-optic access lines will account for a share of about 97 percent of the total fixed broadband lines in the APAC region by 2029,” said Kantipudi Pradeepthi, Telecom Analyst of GlobalData.
“China will lead the fixed broadband market in the APAC region, driven by growth in FTTH/B subscriptions, because of the government’s efforts to expand and upgrade fiber-optic infrastructure,” he added. FTTH/B means “fibre to the home/building,” where the fibre line runs directly into homes and offices.
China biggest driver
China is the biggest driver of fibre growth in APAC, thanks to massive government-backed rollouts. Across the region, fibre now serves as the backbone for fixed networks, while fixed wireless and satellite fill gaps in hard-to-reach areas and older DSL/copper lines continue to shrink.
By 2025, fibre accounted for about 86.8 percent of broadband subscribers in APAC. It was the leading broadband platform in all 18 markets tracked. With more public investment in fibre networks and operators pushing multi-gigabit plans, the trend points to fibre-dominated home and business internet across APAC through 2031.
