Is Demand For Mobile Broadband Falling?

Despite more and more people opting to purchase smartphones that give them the chance to browse the internet, listen to music and watch videos while on the move, it appears you’re losing interest in mobile broadband.

This is according to ISP Review, which claims the initial surge in uptake from the technology appears to become slowing down dramatically.

The news provider states more and more of you are starting to realise mobile broadband might not be all it’s cracked as much as be and whilst comparing prices and switching to an additional provider can sometimes be the answer, sales have seen a decline.

Nevertheless, the publication claims the service offered is still “excellent” and as a complimentary package to fixed-line broadband choices, it might be the perfect solution.

One of the difficulties some people are experiencing with mobile broadband comes from congestion and low revenues, which is causing a substantial “performance drain”, ISP Review continues.

Simply because of this, many providers do not even publicise their download speeds with regards to mobile broadband.

Whilst numerous 3G choices are capable of giving you speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, or even 14.4 Mbps in the case of HSPA-based services, these frequently wind up being slower and closer towards the 1-2 Mbps mark.

This issue might not last forever though, as the website says upgrades could sort this out as time goes on.

Rather than cellular broadband, fixed-line options seem to become the internet connection of choice for most people, as the Broadband Forum recently revealed that 484 million people around the world are utilizing them to browse the world wide web.

WiBE To Deliver Broadband To Rural Areas

A British firm believes that it might have the solution to the UK’s rural broadband problem with its wireless broadband enabler (WiBE), a gadget that uses the mobile broadband network to supply a local hotspot offering 2 Mbps.

According to Deltenna, the company behind this gadget, the WiBE searches for the strongest mobile signal and then configures the internal aerial, enabling the gadget to offer strong broadband connection even in spots where a phone is unable to pick up a 3G signal.

The device has a maximum speed limit of 7.2 Mbps, but with tests in a rural situation the device has managed to frequently attain a broadband connection speed of 2.8 Mbps.

The issue is that the mobile network is unable to sustain a strong signal for a long period of time.

More People Are Signing Up For Mobile Broadband

From checking e-mails to status updating on social networking sites, more people are looking to go online while they are on the move these days. And this seems to be a trend that will continue to grow, with people now working more on the move and more people owning and purchase laptops and more advanced mobile phone device.

Peter Rampling, marketing director at mobile operator O2 UK, said the increasing take-up of fixed internet over the years had been a big influence. “There is a natural progression, people now want to use it when they are out and about,” he said.

More laptop users were signing up for mobile broadband which took advantage of 3G mobile phone networks. After paying a monthly subscription, a dongle or USB modem can be used to access the net wirelessly on a laptop.

But Steven Hartley, senior analyst at market research firm Ovum, said the performance of fixed versus mobile broadband was like comparing “apples and oranges”. He said that mobile broadband speeds “vary dramatically”, and could reach a “theoretical maximum” of 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps). “Be aware that a lot of these theoretical speeds involve you standing in a flat field directly in line with a tower and nobody else around,” Mr Hartley said.

Despite the flexibility of mobile broadband, the service is dependent on coverage. Also, there are limits to the amount of data users are permitted to upload and download.

Many services offer a data allowance of around 3GB a month which is sufficient for web browsing and e-mailing – but it is not ideal for downloading video. “More people doing more bandwidth hungry stuff means that performance across the whole network will drop,” warned Mr Rampling.

In many remote parts of the world, mobile broadband is the only way for people to get online to economic or infrastructure of the conutry. “The cost of digging up roads, installing cables, cabinets and exchanges is far more expensive then putting in cell towers that can serve a very wide area,” said Mr Hartley. He said that a mobile broadband service was “more than adequate” in places without the necessary infrastructure. He also stated that we should expect the number of people using wireless connections to increase in coming years – in particular, with the creation of networks built around fourth generation, or 4G, technology.

An alternative, and rival, is a technology called Wimax – this could improve performance thanks to its ability to provide wireless transmission of data over several kilometres. “Some of the 4G technologies and LTE, or long term evolution,… are going to allow a theoretical maximum of about 100Mbps,” said Mr Hartley.