There will be around 720 million computers with fixed Internet connections worldwide by 2015, according to a recent report.

Analysys Mason, a consultancy firm, has predicted that there will be a continuous increase in broadband acquisition over the next five years, with the total line number increasing significantly from just 500 million in 2010.

The consultancy company said that fixed lines will account for more than a half (62 per cent) of the 1.16 billion internet connections around the world by 2015.

Senior Analyst at Analysys Mason and author of the report, Martin Scott, said that developed countries will continue to be the main source of revenue for the majority of fixed internet connections but the most growth over the next six years will be in developing regions.

He also said:

"Emerging regions will generate 28.5 per cent of worldwide fixed broadband retail revenue by 2015, up from 17.2 per cent in 2009.

"Developed markets accounted for 67 per cent of fixed broadband connections at the end of 2009. This will fall to 54 per cent by the end of 2015."

In June 2010 the Broadband Forum was reported as saying that there currently should be around 484 million broadband lines at the end of the first quarter of 2010.