Mobile WiMAX to follow after
HSPA will dominate mobile broadband network deployments over the next five years, consistently accounting for about 70% of the total mobile broadband subscriber base until 2012, according to Juniper Research.
EV-DO (Revs. A & B) will be the next most prolific technology driven by extensive penetration of the Americas and Far East, Juniper found.
Globally, nearly 1 in 3 mobile subscribers will use a mobile broadband connection by 2012, totalling over one billion users, with demand chiefly from North America and Western Europe, with the Far East and China in behind.
However, Juniper cautions that the main issue that will dictating takeup will be the availability of suitable devices – whether handsets, laptops, datacards, or other types of device such as media players. Mobile broadband will be a device-based technology.
Report author Howard Wilcox said: "HSPA's in-service status in 2007 makes it already the most advanced mobile broadband technology, with many further deployments due in the near and medium term.HSPA will also benefit from technology "leap" subscribers in the developing nations, and handset churn elsewhere, with users migrating to HSPA-based broadband as the norm."
As for other competitor technologies to HSDPA and EV-DO, Wilcox rated Mobile WiMAX as "positioned to achieve a single digit percent proportion of the global mobile broadband subscriber base by 2012."
"This will represent a significant attainment for this new mobile platform.
We believe that the WiMAX market will see substantial growth after 2012, as new networks are built out and new applications are adopted," he added.
Juniper also said there are several wildcard factors could significantly increase the size of the market including the emergence of very low cost laptops, and adding broadband capability to a range of devices including portable music/MP3 players, and games consoles.
White papers and further details of the study 'Mobile Broadband Markets:
EV-DO, WiMAX, HSPA & Beyond 2007-2012' can be downloaded here.
http://www.juniperresearch.com