Nearly 40 million people subscribed to DSL service for the first time in the past year, according to a new analysis by Point Topic, for a growth rate of 45%.By the end of 2005, 140 million global homes and businesses will have DSL, the report found. European Union countries account for the greatest number of DSL subscribers, with 40% of the total. The UK and France led the way, with 3 million subscribers each. The USA extended its lead over Japan as the second largest DSL population in the world. China currently has 10 million subscribers and is rapidly approaching 25 million. A total of 19 countries will have more than one million subscribers at the end of this year. Australia, Belgium, Turkey, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland have recently broken this barrier.
