The big dumb pipe will generate $190 billion by 2012

Those 2 wild and crazy guys in the US broadband duopoly keep telling us they can’t make a living selling us big dumb pipe at a fair price. As a result we endure paying for a phone line we may not need to get DSL, and have valuable bandwidth filled with TV channels few watch, but all subscribers pay for to allow them a chance to recover their “losses”. Those fortunate few Americans that have access to a big dumb pipe like Verizon’s FIOS pay a big multiple of what someone in France, Japan or Korea pays for similar service. The problem is this: Anyone with a duopoly position in a $190 billion market that can’t make money from something as simple as a big dumb pipe needs career counseling. For now their shareholders are still buying the lie, and losing money.

More than 415 million broadband accounts will be active by the end of the year, according to estimates published by Strategy Analytics today. The market research expects this number to grow to 612 million by 2012.

Worldwide, broadband service revenues will increase from $130 billion in 2008 to $190 billion in 2012, with Europe, Asia Pacific and North America leading the way, Strategy Analytics said. (Toms Hardware)