According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, HSPA/LTE accounted for 17.3 percent of the total number of broadband connections in Europe at the end of 2009. The number of HSPA/LTE mobile broadband subscribers (connected PCs) grew by 71 percent year-on-year in 2009 to reach 25.0 million and is forecasted to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.6 percent to 81 million by 2015. The North American market has so far evolved at a slower pace, with mobile broadband accounting for just 7.1 percent of the total number of connections. Between 2009 and 2015, the North American market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.8 percent to reach 42 million subscribers at the end of the period.
The levels of adoption of mobile broadband vary significantly across Europe. “Austria is the most advanced market with a penetration rate of over 15 percent, corresponding to 40 percent of all broadband connections in the country. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland and Portugal have also penetration rates above 10 percent. Belgium, Netherlands and Greece have on the other hand penetration rates of less than 3 percent”, said Marcus Persson, Telecom Analyst, Berg Insight. He predicts that mobile broadband connectivity will eventually become a standard feature in portable PCs which will have integrated wireless modems, enabling them to connect to the best available network. “The attach rate of embedded mobile broadband in notebooks was less than 5 percent in both Europe and North America last year. This will change as prices for the embedded modules decrease and an attach rate of almost 45 percent is expected already in 5 years”, Marcus concludes.
Huawei has established itself as the world’s largest supplier of mobile broadband terminals holding a market share of 53 percent and has a particularly strong foothold in Europe. ZTE is the second largest vendor with clear margins capturing a market share of 30 percent. Berg Insight estimates the total global number of shipped external mobile broadband devices in 2009 to 66 million, with Europe and North America accounting for 24.3 million units and 5.6 million units respectively.