3G+, 4G introduction boosts Euro mobile broadband adoption

Peter Dinham
Friday, 15 May 2009 08:59

IT Industry - Market

The introduction of 3G+ and 4G has boosted mobile broadband adoption in Europe, with the number of European mobile broadband users forecast to reach 116.6 million in 2014, a massive increase of 92.3 million over current users.

According to the latest market report by Pyramid Research, despite the economic slowdown, European mobile broadband adoption is continuing to grow “relentlessly” with the 3G+ and 4G introduction, as well as expanded device selection and usability, and affordability and pricing gains by the mobile networks.

The number of European’s using mobile broadband in 2008 was just 24.3 million but Pyramid forecasts the huge jump to 116.6 million by 2014 with, it says  “the right conditions existing in Europe”, including the wide availability and high quality of mobile broadband, attractive pricing, and user-friendly devices.

"It has been a while since we saw an opportunity this big in European mobile communications," says Bakhyt Weeks, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report, which looked at four key European markets - Poland, Russia, Spain, and the U.K..

Weeks says that surging demand for Internet mobility is driving deployments and upgrades of broadband-capable mobile networks, and says that "with operators announcing 3G, 3G+, and LTE rollouts, spending on networks upgrades is expected to be stable in spite of the economic slowdown."

According to Weeks, mobile broadband devices are ready for the mass market, and "a wide range of broadband devices that are easy to use and attractive are now available from mobile operators, including a growing selection of WiMax and CDMA EVDO devices," which she says, "allows operators to move into the mass market; most devices are now subsidised and therefore affordable."

And, Weeks also says that, as a full-blown, mass-market push for mobile broadband drives down prices, mobile broadband is becoming competitive against basic fixed broadband across Europe.

“Also, the recent emergence of prepaid mobile broadband offers is likely to attract business users who travel or commute a lot, as well as others who value mobility,” Weeks says.

“In lower-income markets, prepaid plans open the door to mobile broadband for those who do not have access to broadband-capable fixed infrastructure and cannot commit to lengthy postpaid mobile broadband contracts.”