WIth mobile broadband services still in the early stages of development, one would think that it’s still ripe for massive growth. According to at least one analyst, this is not the case. Ronan de Renesse, senior analyst at Screen Digest, thinks that at least in Europe, the growth rate will decline over the next two years. How is this possible? Normally new technologies thrive, but mobile broadband, a potentially revolutionary one, will begin fading when it should start to seriously ramp up? What gives?
Through the accompanying article, much is made about the rapid growth of mobile broadband services. It even discusses how competition in Europe has led to cheaper plans, including prepaid packages. However, de Renesse pushes these issues aside and talks about something different.
“The mobile operators have trapped customers into long-term contracts, whilst failing to deliver the unrealistic networks speed that encouraged them to sign up in the first place. The service can be patchy and users become frustrated – many will switch back to fixed broadband if operators don’t act quickly.”
Will people switch back to fixed broadband, though? Perhaps the situation is different on the other side of the pond, but mobile broadband serves a completely different purpose than its fixed-line competitor. Switching to the latter wouldn’t do much good if the mobile broadband user needs the mobility part of the equation.
While the economy might cause for growth rates to stagnate, at least on this side of the pond connectivity issues shouldn’t be too much of a factor. Plus, since customers sign up for two-year contracts many won’t be eligible to leave the service during this year, anyway.
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