The global telecommunications industry continues to expand as spending by consumers and businesses for wireless services fuels industry revenue growth, says a new market analysis report from The Insight Research Corporation. According to the new industry market study, telecommunications services revenue on a worldwide basis will grow from $2.1 trillion in 2012 to $2.7 trillion in 2017 at a combined average growth rate of 5.3 percent.

Hybrid set top boxes are a fast-growing segment of the worldwide set top box market. These boxes include a TV tuner and an Internet connection. It’s similar to hybrid vehicles that combine a gasoline engine with an electric motor. Hybrid STBs are appearing in all service categories and new usage models and applications have provided momentum. As television services begin employing applications that are Internet-connected, we see hybrid set top boxes emerging as a key growth driver for the global set top box industry.

New data from TeleGeography show that at the end of Q3 2011 telcos worldwide had a total of 94 million pay-TV subscribers, giving them a 12% share of the global pay-TV market. Given current growth rates the subscriber total will be passing the 100-million milestone as this article is being written. Leading the telco charge is America Movil with ten million pay-TV subscribers, thanks to a dominant market position in Brazil and Colombia and substantial pay-TV operations in several other Latin American countries.

With forecasts exceeding 80% of units shipped by 2015, connected TVs are expected to lead the way in global TV shipments escalating from 27% in 2011, according to new research from Futuresource Consulting. On a regional level, Japan leads the way in the adoption of connected TVs, with 59% of shipments in 2011 integrating IP connectivity as standard. Penetration in the USA and China hit 29%, however Europe is behind the curve with 24% of TV sales being connected.

The popularity of over-the-top video has created a demand for Wi-Fi in the entertainment cluster of home living rooms. Increasingly, home video entertainment devices such as digital TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and all versions of set top boxes (STBs) are coming to the market Wi-Fi-connected, so the devices can connect to the web and to each other. NewIn-Stat (www.in-stat.com) research shows that the evolution of the home network will drive the number of in-home video WLAN-enabled video devices to approach 600 million in 2015.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) ® released a new study which found that more than half (53 percent) of online U.S. adults watch some form of streaming or downloaded video content in the home. Those consumers have a distinct preference for streaming video versus downloading content, as 51 percent view streaming content and spend an average of two hours per week watching, while only 15 percent download content and spend an average of one hour watching.

Latest broadband and IPTV figures published by the Broadband Forum show a significant surge in growth in Q3-2011, with more new subscribers added in the quarter than at any time since early 2009. The figures also point to the growing importance of fiber as FTTH and hybrid FTTx deployments increase.

Consumers intend to buy fewer televisions this year and fewer are regularly watching content on them, a new Accenture (NYSE: ACN) survey has found. Consumers are rapidly turning to other consumer electronics devices such as smartphones and tablet computers to view media, while also using more online services and downloading applications for various purposes, including entertainment, according to  Accenture’s new 2012 Global Consumer Electronics Products and Services Usage Report.

Driven by rising demand for fast Internet access, particularly from China and other developing regions, the global broadband subscriber base is set to grow by nearly 60 percent in the coming years, with about 350 million new consumers projected to come online from 2011 to 2015. The number of broadband subscribers worldwide will amount to 949 million by 2015, up 58 percent from 600 million in 2011, according to an IHS iSuppli Broadband & Digitally Connected Home Market Tracker report from information and analysis provider IHS.

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that 69% of households in the United States have at least one high definition television (HDTV) set -- up from 17% in 2006. Over the past five years, 52% of US households adopted HDTV.

In addition, 48% of HDTV households have more than one HDTV. Overall, about one-third of all US households now have multiple HDTV sets -- up from about one-sixth of all households two years ago, and 4% five years ago. Yet, about 45% of TV sets in HD households, and close to 60% of all TV sets in the US, are not HDTVs.