Mobile Broadband Growth Defies Recession

With the worldwide recession impacting fixed line broadband growth, there is still one area that is seemingly unaffected by the current slowdown. Mobile Broadband is apparently more popular now than ever before with growth rates set to continue.

The EITO and GSMA Reports

Both EITO and the GSMA have produced new reports which predict that mobile broadband usage is set to increase during 2009. The rise in popularity is said to be down to new mobile internet applications and also visually appealing handsets being introduced.

EITO predicts the growth rate of mobile data services provided by mobile broadband networks in 2009 will be 16%. Further to this, it is estimated that the wireless communication market in general will also increase by 6.6%.

Free laptop deals (netbooks) are reported to be one of the main contributors towards the growth in mobile broadband services with all of the UK operators now offering mobile broadband free laptop deals.

The GSMA also carried out a recent mobile broadband survey which showed that over one hundred million mobile connections were now for mobile broadband – with the opportunity for mobile broadband to reach and be used by more of the population being quite vast.

With companies being urged to spend money on advertising and marketing to combat the recession, it’s interesting to hear that mobile broadband providers are instead using their budgets to improve their current services.

With more reliable and faster mobile broadband connections expected as a result, the success of mobile broadband is set to continue.