Mobile operators discover the dangers of being reduced to a dumb pipeAs handsets turn into computers, laptops are becoming more like mobile phones. Even industry veterans have been surprised by the rapid take-up of mobile broadband — using built-in receivers or plug-in “dongles” to provide internet access to laptops via high-speed mobile networks. The advantage of this is that it works anywhere — unlike short-range Wi-Fi technology, it is not limited to a few hotspots. In Western Europe alone, the number of mobile-broadband users will grow by 50% to 27m this year, according to IDC, an analyst firm. Worldwide, there are thought to be around 100m.What explains this unexpected boom in such troubled times? Operators have been cutting their prices for data-only connections: in Britain, 3, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, charges as little as £10 ($14) per month for one gigabyte of data. Prices for dongles are falling, too. Connection speeds are improving as operators upgrade their networks. And then there is the surprising success of netbooks — cheap laptops that are small enough to take everywhere. Operators have even started giving away netbooks with some mobile-broadband contracts.To read this report from The Economist in full, see:
www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13234973
The boom in mobile broadband
As handsets turn into computers, laptops are becoming more like mobile phones. Even industry veterans have been surprised by the rapid take-up of mobile broadband — using built-in receivers or plug-in “dongles” to provide internet access to laptops via high-speed mobile networks. The advantage of this is that it works anywhere — unlike short-range Wi-Fi technology, it is not limited to a few hotspots. In Western Europe alone, the number of mobile-broadband users will grow by 50% to 27m this year, according to IDC, an analyst firm. Worldwide, there are thought to be around 100m.