SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Asia Pacific nations now account for nearly half the world’s DSL subscribers, according to RHK’s new report Broadband Goes Abroad: Asia Leads the World. Subscriber growth and network build-outs ramped up in 2001, driven by a unique combination of government-sponsored initiatives and favorable demographics. At the end of 2001, the region had more than 7.5 million DSL subscribers, 4 million in South Korea alone. RHK expects this trend to continue, as China, Japan, South Korea and other countries in the region modernize their telecom infrastructures. "The Asia Pacific region has quickly become a petri dish for the world to study and learn how DSL can be deployed quickly and successfully” remarks Ken Twist, Director of Broadband Access Networks: Global at RHK. "Just three years ago, Asian service providers were visiting North America to learn how to deploy DSL and what services to offer. Times have changed; this region now accounts for approximately 44% of the world’s DSL subscribers.”This new report investigates broadband deployment efforts underway in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. RHK projects regional growth for DSL in 2002 led by South Korea, followed by Japan and Taiwan. In Japan, competition, low flat-rate Internet access costs, and a rapidly growing Internet population are helping accelerate broadband deployments. RHK Inc.