Fixed communications service revenue in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.2% between 2026 and 2031. This growth will be supported by the increasing fixed broadband service adoption, particularly in the region’s emerging markets, and will be led by the fiber broadband segment, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

An analysis of GlobalData’s APAC Fixed Communications Forecast Pack (Q2 2026) reveals that APAC is a moderately developed region in terms of fixed broadband adoption, with fixed broadband account penetration of the population projected to reach 23.6% at year-end 2026. By 2031, fixed broadband penetration is set to reach 26.6% driven by the ongoing broadband network expansions and growing adoption in emerging markets like the Philippines, Malaysia and India, where governments are investing heavily in fixed broadband infrastructure development.

Developed APAC, on the other hand, already has relatively high broadband penetration due to the national broadband network (NBN) projects in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Kantipudi Pradeepthi, Telecom  Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Rising demand for high-speed internet services and competitively priced fiber broadband plans from operators with benefits like unlimited internet and access to major subscription video on demand (SVoD) platforms will drive the fiber broadband service adoption in the region. By 2031, fiber-optic access lines will account for a share of about 86% of the total fixed access lines in the developed APAC region, while their share in the total fixed lines in the emerging APAC markets will be slightly higher at 88%.”

Growth in fiber optic access lines in emerging APAC will be mainly driven by governments’ aggressive fiber rollout and upgrade plans. In Malaysia, for instance, the government’s Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) plan, which aims to expand broadband coverage and improve connectivity quality nationwide, has exceeded its deployment targets. Under the plan’s phased implementation, fibre-optic coverage reached 9.94 million premises as of May 2026, surpassing the nine million premises target set for Phase 2 by 2025 and highlighting continued progress in expanding the country’s fixed broadband infrastructure.

India is also expanding its fibre infrastructure to support growing demand for fixed broadband. Bharti Airtel reported deploying over 43,000 kilometres of fibre during FY2025–26, while expanding its fibre network to cover more than 45 million homes, supporting the growth of high-speed broadband services across the country..

According to GlobalData, China has about 99% of its broadband subscriptions on fiber optic lines as of 2026, making it one of the major fiber broadband markets in the region. The country’s ongoing efforts to accelerate next-generation broadband infrastructure, including gigabit broadband upgrades and 10G optical network deployments, are expected to further boost premium fiber broadband service adoption across both residential and enterprise segments. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) reported in May 2026 that the country already has over 32 million 10G PON ports capable of delivering 10-gigabit broadband services to homes.

Pradeepthi adds: “Operators such as Reliance Jio in India, Spark in New Zealand, and Telstra in Australia have increased the attractiveness of fiber plans by bundling them with value-added services such as SVoD and pay-TV. In India, for instance, Reliance Jio’s basic broadband plan starts at INR399($4.60)/month with unlimited data at 30 mbps speed, while its popular INR999 ($11.51)/month plan offers unlimited data at 150 mbps with access to 12 OTT platforms, including Amazon Prime Lite, JioHotStar, Zee5, and SonyLIV.”

Voice telephony penetration in APAC will remain stagnant at around 10% through the forecast period. While circuit switched telephony lines will decline at a CAGR of 0.6% over the forecast period, packet switched telephony lines will grow at a CAGR of 3.1%.

Pradeepthi concludes: “Despite an increase in the overall voice telephony access lines in the region, fixed voice revenue will continue to decline over the forecast period, as users increasingly shift toward mobile voice and OTT-based calling services.”