The number of mobile broadband subscriptions will reach 1 billion before the end of 2011, boosted by faster networks and the growing popularity of smartphones, telecom vendor Ericsson said on Monday.
In 2010, another important milestone was reached as the number of subscriptions surpassed 500 million mark globally. But that number will double before the end of 2011, Ericsson said in a statement.
The largest number of subscriptions, around 400 million, will come from Asia-Pacific region, followed by North America and Western Europe with more than 200 million subscriptions each.
Higher speeds are not just attracting more users, but also changing their behavior. About 23 percent of TeliaSonera's LTE (Long-Term Evolution) users watch more online TV, and 28 percent of those people said they increasingly listen to web radio and music services such as Spotify, according to a survey done by the carrier. Also, more than 46 percent now surf the web more frequently when away from home. TeliaSonera offers LTE using a USB dongle.
The technologies defined by Ericsson as mobile broadband are HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access), LTE, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Mobile WiMAX and TD-SCDMA. The subscription numbers include handsets, USB dongles and embedded modules, which can be integrated into laptops, tablets and netbooks.
By 2015, HSPA will by far be the most used technology, followed by CDMA2000 EV-DO, LTE, TD-SCDMA and Mobile WiMAX. The first three will represent 95 percent of all subscriptions, Ericsson said.
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