The number of broadband subscribers is expected to double over the next five years as availability increases and prices fall.

Boffins have totted up the numbers and reckon there are now some 200 million broadband lines around the world. And according to researchers at In-Stat this number is expected to top 400m by the end of 2010.

"There are several reasons behind the rapid growth in worldwide broadband subscribers," said In-Stat analyst Mike Paxton, "but the most important are the increasing availability of broadband services and the proliferation of new applications that rely on high-speed connections."

Other reasons why broadband continues to be popular include falling prices and the emergence of bundled services.

The report - The Broadband Boom Continues: Worldwide Subscribers Pass 200 Million also reveals that DSL accounts for seven in ten of all broadband lines in the world . ®