Broadband continues its growth, with a Brazil, Russia, India and China leading the way.

The UK communications regulator – Ofcom – has revealed that the average rate of broadband growth in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is 40% – quadruple that of many major economies.

Ofcom’s International Communications Market research data has taken a look at the £548 billion market in 12 major economies – including US, Italy, Spain and Poland – and four of the fastest-growing economies (BRIC) in the five years to 2008.

Although broadband is growing in all of the 12 main comparator countries, the growth has slowed dramatically – falling from 20.9% in 2007, to 9.1% in 2008.

Earlier this year the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), which represents 30 countries across the world, said that broadband growth is increasingly important as networks are “seen as a fundamental infrastructure for the economy, like roads, water and electricity.”

The OECD was concerned that the economic crisis could have an impact on growth as investment may be withdrawn. Although, up to June 2009 the downturn seems to have had little impact as the OECD recorded a 10% growth of broadband subscribers in its member countries compared to June 2008.

Other digital communications are also enjoying consumer growth.

The proportion of consumers with digital television is continuing to exceed expectations. Spain saw the fastest rate of growth as 18% of households migrated to digital in 2008. However, the UK remains the country with the highest number of households with digital TV at 88%, with the US following closely behind recording an increase of 6% to 76% of households with digital TV.

According to the research, the US leads the way when it comes to mobile texting, boasting a figure of 830 billion outgoing messages – more than two thirds of the total messaging volume. The UK had the second highest volume in 2008 with 83 billion.

The digital communication revolution continues to grow at a non-surprising pace given the speed at which new technologies are developed and introduced. In the UK the switch to digital – where the analogue TV signal will be switched off – is set for 2012 and there is a huge government push to make sure people have made the switch.

In Africa, fibre-optic cable now connects the south and east of the continent to India and Europe. SEACOM’s installation – which completed in June 2009 – marked an historic milestone in making previously unavailable technology accessible to everyone.