state intervention. Consumer demand for higher bandwidth applications and new services is fuelling growth - broadband subscriber additions in Q1 2009 remained strong in the US, China, Brazil and Canada, whilst broadband subscriber additions in Latin America and Southern and Eastern Asia also looked healthy (Insight 12). negligible marginal costs and the absence of terrestrial last-mile complications look set to deliver sustained growth over the coming years according to the latest industry projections, which remain optimistic at around 7-8% annual growth in revenues for the next five years (Insight 13) and 50% growth over the next decade (Insight 14). Satellite operators can take advantage of both corporate financing in their own name as well as and project financing, and are exploring new financing mechanisms. Growing consumer and government demand and new applications are set to drive steady demand over the medium-term (Insight 14). Growth in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subscribers continues unabated, with some suggestion that the recession could inspire cost-conscious consumers to explore bundled services that are perceived to be cheaper in some markets. ITU’s annual regulatory survey suggests that regulatory frameworks for VoIP and NGN are catching up with the market reality – by mid- 2009, just over two-thirds of all countries had explicitly legalized commercial offerings of VoIP or implicitly condoned VoIP. Global Fibre-To-The Home (FTTH) installations are forecast to grow at a steady rate of 30% over the next five years, even before the effects of stimulus investment in FTTx in some countries are felt. The difficulties in finding funding now faced by some telcos have threatened to derail investment in NGNs, but some governments have been quick to step in including ICT infrastructure in their stimulus plans to protect the roll-out of NGNs and leverage growth in ICT infrastructure in support of their long-term economic growth and development goals. Overall, this Report concludes that the ICT sector has a major role to play in generating economic growth and stimulating economic recovery to bring the global economic slowdown to an end. The satellite industry also continues to sustain healthy growth rates throughout the financial crisis. Long lead times, new financing models, Confronting the Crisis: ICT Stimulus Plans for Economic Growth 13