(14 May 2008 1:30 pm)

NEW DELHI: China will own the biggest share of broadband per household in Asia throughout 2010, while Japan and South Korea are expected to lose shares gradually, according to a study by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

India’s share will be a mere two per cent while China will gain shares to 60 per cent in 2010. Japan and South Korea, however, are expected to lose ground, to 21 per cent and just 7 per cent, respectively, PwC predicted.

In 2004, China owned 40 per cent of overall broadband households in Asia Pacific, while Japan and South Korea accounted for 27 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Other areas such as Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong only make up a small share of overall Asian broadband household, either in 2004 or in 2010, according to PwC.

Meanwhile, the United States took the lead among nine selected countries in terms of time spent online in January 2008, according to the data from Nielsen Online.

The data was derived from nine countries, including the United States, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Australia and Switzerland during January 2008.

France and Spain followed in the second and the third spots, while Australia and Switzerland lagged behind.

According to Nielsen Online, a US online user on average spent more than 28.5 hours surfing the Internet, double the usage time in Australia and Switzerland. France was on the second spot with just under 20 hours, while Spain and the United Kingdom followed each with more than 18 hours per month. In Brazil, Germany and Italy, a user spent about 16 to 17 hours online on average in January 2008.