50% of Europeans to use mobile broadband

Half of Europeans will be using mobile broadband by 2012, a new study has claimed.

Lower prices for mobile broadband services will dramatically increase the number of people opting to use mobile broadband technology, a study by Arthur D Little and Exane and reported by TotalTelecom claims.

"Lower [data] prices, the rollout of HSDPA networks, and also the uptake of HSDPA devices means that mobile broadband traffic growth is set to explode," Antoine Pradayrol, head of telecoms at Exane BNP Paribas, told the website.

The increasing usage of mobile broadband is expected to put pressure on carriers however.

To overcome this Mr Pradayrol said broadband providers will need to employ femtocells to boost mobile signal strength and ensure network coverage.

Jean-Luc Cyrot, co-author of the report and director in Arthur D Little's TIME Practice added: "We believe that mobile broadband offers large opportunities for value creation at all levels of the value chain, but while telecom operators have traditionally occupied a prime spot in the value chain, they face fast-moving competition from sophisticated global giants coming from the Internet and hardware worlds."