More people worldwide are subscribing to high-speed Internet connections.

A report released at the CommunicAsia 2009 trade fair in Singapore showed that the number of broadband lines grew by 16.6 million globally in the last quarter alone to more than 429 million.

It said broadband penetration in 20 countries grew by 10 percent or more in the first quarter from the previous three months, with the biggest rise of 13.4 percent coming from India.

Broadband lines in China rose 5.66 percent quarter-on-quarter to 88.09 million, surpassing the United States, which had 71.03 million lines, said the report prepared for industry group Broadband Forum by analysts Point Topic.

Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines also had growth rates above the global average of 4.0 percent, according to the report.

Wireless broadband grew over one million lines for a 1.30 percent market share, according to the report.