Mobile broadband 'to reach two billion by 2015'

Broadband appears to be on the cusp of its second growth spurt -- this time in the form of mobile connectivity. New research from Analysys Mason says that in seven years there will be 2.1 billion wireless broadband subscribers on the planet and that the overwhelming majority will be connecting through the mobile data transmission technology HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access). That's up from 61 million HSDPA subscribers worldwide by the end of this year, Analysys Mason reports.

HSDPA, which is a major technology component of so-called 4G wireless connectivity, will support 88 per cent of mobile broadband surfers by 2015, dwarfing such technologies as LTE and Wi-Max. Wi-Max, which was once regarded as the most promising wireless broadband technology, will be a minor player, Analysys Mason says, with less than five per cent of the overall mobile broadband market.

Still, the market is not going to be that simple for consumers. Expect the three technological acronyms to remain in use as carriers try to woo customers over to their broadband-on-the-go plans.

Comments

[Pritam Sinha]

Great news to hear for an Indian as our country is overwhelmingly adding to the mobile connections per month (6.5 million on an average).

I would like to think that mobile broadband is the way forward in an attempt to bridge the digital divide worldwide and it is heartening to note that almost the double of the population of India would be connected to the internet via their tiny gadget.

As an ICT journalist cum internet researcher, this news is like a balm.

[Ro]

Considering the last ten years I think it is rather short sighted to say most people will be connected by HSDPA in 7 years time. By then there will probably be something far faster, cheaper and more efficient. The only reason people will use HSDPA is because they haven't upgraded their phone for years.

[jOHN]

After how many years and Cell Phones still have so many dead spots and dropped calls.