Mobile Broadband Adoption to Grow Relentlessly Across Europe

In spite of the economic slowdown, mobile broadband adoption will continue to grow relentlessly across Europe, boosted by the introduction of 3G+ and 4G, expanding device selection and usability, and the gains mobile networks are making in affordability and pricing, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

Thanks to the right conditions existing in Europe -- including the wide availability and high quality of mobile broadband, attractive pricing, and user-friendly devices -- the number of European mobile broadband users will reach 116.6 million in 2014, up from 24.3 million in 2008, notes Bakhyt Weeks, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "It has been a while since we saw an opportunity this big in European mobile communications," she says.

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

Mobile broadband devices are ready for the mass market. "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," Weeks says. "This allows operators to move into the mass market; most devices are now subsidized and therefore affordable," she explains.

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."

Posted to the site on 12th May 2009