Mobile broadband modem market rising fast

The mobile broadband modem market is set for a new stage of growth, driven by increased interest from businesses and now also consumers as operators introduce lower prices for data services, according to new research by Telecompaper.

Moreover says the Dutch analyst firm, there is an industry shift from a high-end niche device market to a lower margin mass market.

The research report shows that the mobile broadband modem market—including PC Cards, ExpressCards, USB devices and internal cellular modems—reached around 4.3 million units in Western Europe in 2007. Over the next five years, overall demand for mobile broadband modems is predicted to see a compound annual growth rate of 32%, reaching shipments of 17 million units by 2012.

In terms of regional split, the strongest growth is expected in the Nordic countries, Greece, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Telecompaper expects embedded modems are expected to exceed the number of external modems by 2011, mainly due to further marketing and collaboration among operators and laptop vendors. The research firm estimates there were around 5.8 million mobile data modem subscribers in Western Europe in 2007, with around 70% situated in the UK, Germany, Italy and Austria.