Does Your Camera Need a Mobile Broadband Connection

Once upon a time you could only connect to the internet with a computer and the most mobile broadband got was moving your PC to the other side of the office. Next came wifi which allowed you to connect anywhere within your own home or even at the local coffee house. These days most people have a mobile phones capable of internet browsing with them at all times so that they can tweet after every bowl movement.



Now that we have the technology to enable small, portable devices to connect at relatively high speeds we can think about what else could be online. The benefits of internet enabled ebook readers are obvious but do you need your fridge to be online? Despite the risks of the Chinese government hacking into your kitchen devices there could be benefits- it could let you know if the temperature changes or if you need to throw out that cheese that is going green.

The number of mobile broadband enabled devices is expected to increase by a factor of 55 by the year 2014. This is likely to cause issues as the mobile broadband infrastructure wasn't built for this amount of traffic. If the infrastructure can be improved we might find that there are a lot of applications for internet enabled devices.

One of the most obvious devices crying out for a broadband connection is the humble digital camera. At the moment cameras are one step behind mobile phones in the it isn't possible to upload your photo directly once you have taken it (although some can handle a wifi connection). The question is are consumers going to pay a monthly fee to have their camera connected to the internet? Will they be able to choose from different providers? Perhaps we will end up paying a monthly fee for all of our devices (hopefully on an unlimited tariff).

41 Percent Say That Mobile Broadband is their Main Connection

Considering that mobile broadband has a reputation as a supplementary technology it comes as quite a surprise that 41% of people who took part in a recent Ofcom poll said that it provided their main connection to the internet. Mobile broadband is typically thought of as an additional way of connecting for those on the move but this has clearly changed.



Most mobile broadband users aren't as mobile as you may imagine, infact 78% predominantly use their dongles at home. This shows us that many mobile broadband users do not have a fixed line connection. The benefits of a mobile broadband dongle go beyond portability particularly for those who do not have a phone line or are looking to save money.

According to Ofcom thosed aged 15-34 are most likely to solely use mobile broadband with 1/10 having a contract. Less well off household are also going for the mobile option with those earning less than £11,500 per year often opting for mobile broadband only. Mobile broadband is clearly maintaining its popularity and looks set to overtake fixed line connections by the end of the year.

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.

3 Billion Mobile Broadband Users by 2014?

There could be 3 billion mobile broadband subscribers by the year 2014 according to the CEO of telecoms company Ericsson. Hans Vestberg was speaking at the Broadband World Forum in Paris when he made the prediction. Vestberg says that although mobile broadband is only in 1 in 10 homes so far Ericsson are expecting this figure to rise dramatically.

"It's a fantastic growth we can see in front of us"

Mr Vestberg added that "there are currently four billion mobile phone users and that this is likely to rise by three billion in the next five years". The stats quoted include multiple those who own multiple SIMs taking into account the fact that some households have several mobile phones, pay as you go mobile broadband and traditional fixed line broadband.

The End of the Mobile Broadband Dongle?

Whilst mobile broadband continues to increase in popularity the future of the 'dongle' looks like it might be at risk. The trusty USB accessory might become a thing of the past, confined to the internet rubbish heap alongside dial up modems.

The GSM Association and Microsoft recently collaborated on a study into the possibility of creating laptops with built in mobile broadband receivers. This would bypass the need for wireless dongles in a similar manner to how built in wireless receivers have taken over from USB powered wifi dongles.

This latest development shows how much faith the GSMA are putting into mobile broadband as The Future of the Internet. They see pay as you go mobile broadband and a service for all internet users rather than just businessmen and those without access to a phone line. If mobile broadband speeds and reliability continue to increase a fixed line may become an obsolete idea after all who actually uses their home phone to make calls?

50 Million Mobile Broadband Users Predicted in the Middle East by 2013

Mobile phone ownership rates are high in the Middle East and rising fast, in the UAE for example the penetration rate is 198.6 percent meaning there are on average two handsets per person. The latest worldwide success story in the telecoms world is undoubtedly mobile broadband and predictably it is taking off fast in the Middle East.



It has recently been predicted by Informa Telecoms & Media that mobile broadband subscription levels in the region could reach 50 million by 2013. To put this is perspective this would be more people connecting via a mobile broadband dongle than currently connect by any method.

"In the MEA region, there is no doubt that mobile broadband adoption will grow faster than the global average. We have observed that in some of the regional markets, mobile broadband services are attracting the majority of net additions. Very soon, mobile broadband will become the preferred option to access the internet, and I would estimate that by 2015 the total number of subscribers will reach 50 million."

Zoran Vasiljev of Value Partners

The lack of infrastructure in the Middle East means that mobile broadband is seen as a good alternative to a fixed line connection. As the coverage levels and speeds increase data traffic is expected to raise by 1,587 percent. The flexibility and portability of the best mobile broadband packages make them a big hit with business customers in the east.

"Mobile broadband has been a true success story over the past two to three years, and mobile data and wireless subscriptions will overtake fixed line data subscriptions in both numbers of customers and in revenue. The ever-growing and unmet demand for access coupled with lack of fixed infrastructure investments (improvements) have contributed to this trend and I do not see this changing or reversing. Demand for mobile broadband will exceed that of fixed line services."

The report also suggests that mobile broadband subscriptions will overtake fixed line connections globally by the year 2011. 65% of connections are expected to be mobile by 2013.

Can Mobile Broadband Help The Govenment Provide 'Broadband For All'?

The Government has pledged to provide 'broadband for all' by 2012 as part of the Digital Britain project. They believe that broadband is essential for everyone from school children to big business in order to strengthen the economy and reduce poverty. Children from homes without an internet connection tend to get, on average, lower grades. Businesses need fast connections in order to compete with the global market.

At the recent Broadband For All seminar Phil Sheppard, who is the Director of Technical Solutions at Three, said that he believes that Mobile Broadband can be used to get the country connected. He suggested that if Mobile Broadband providers were given access to more of the digital spectrum they would be able to create enough high-speed coverage to help the Government to reach their goal.

“Mobile Broadband tends to be capable and commercially capable of providing the 2Mbps broadband universal service commitment and is an extremely efficient way of doing it. It is very cost effective, it actually doesn’t need government funding, what it needs is access to spectrum, that’s the key”.

The allocation of empty areas of the spectrum (such as that which will be freed up by the switch from analogue television) is causing a lot of debate amongst mobile broadband companies. Hopefully the Government and the Digital Britain Group will take the bait and work with the providers to increase coverage and speed. Those in rural areas could benefit greatly if more of the digital spectrum is given over to Mobile Broadband.

American Mobile Broadband Usage Rises

As I have mentioned previously Mobile Broadband has taken off in a big way. An increasingly large percentage of the population connects via a mobile device and the demographic continues to widen. Until now there has been less information available about mobile broadband take-up in America. A new report from the Pew Research Center has changed that.

The report shows that mobile connections are continuing to increase in popularity in the USA. Around 56 percent of American Adults have used a mobile connection in 2009 in 2007 this figure was around 25 percent. It is worth noting that the research includes connections via 3G mobile devices for instance high-end mobile phones. The launch of the iPhone has helped to popularize internet enabled portable devices and gone part of the way to banishing the terrible memories of WAP connection and tiny screens.

"Mobile access strengthens the three pillars of online engagement: connecting with others, satisfying information queries and sharing content with others" - John B. Horrigan of the Pew Project

19 percent of Americans questioned said that they use a mobile internet device (either a cell phone or a mobile broadband enabled laptop) on a daily basis. The fact that the best mobile broadband offers continue to decrease in price and the availability of good pay as you go mobile broadband with greater coverage means that these figures are likely to increase. Good internet access is becoming the number one selling point for new mobile phones and the technology is improving rapidly. I wouldn't be surprised if this time next year two thirds of Americans had connected via a mobile device at some point.