Mobile Broadband to Overtake Fixed Line Connections by The End of the Year

Mobile broadband subscriptions (including high speed internet connections on mobile phones) are expected to reach 600 million by the end of the year. Fixed line subscriptions look set to reach 500 Million. That means for the first time ever there will be more mobile broadband connections than those operating via a phone line.



The scale of mobile broadband take-up is staggering, the International Telecoms Union reported a 50% increase in subscriptions over the last year alone. Mobile subscriptions are expected to reach 4.6 Billion by the end of the year so clearly the percentage of mobile phones with high speed internet access remains low. Pay as you go mobile broadband and free laptop deals continue to grow in popularity.

the increase in connections could be negative for the consumer in the short term but will lead to improvements in infrastructure likely to benefit all users in the long term. Increased demand will see the current 3g infrastructure strained but improvements will be made. Whilst even the best mobile broadband can fall behind fixed line in terms of speed consumers will expect improvements and providers will be looking to proved them.