Mobile broadband subscribers to top 1bn by 2013

The quantity of established mobilebroadband subscribers has the potential to pass one billion by 2013, new research suggests.

According to a survey by Infonetics Research, there was a 125 per cent growth in mobilebroadband subscribers during 2008 compared to 2007, helping the industry to pass 210 million users.

Despite the credit crunch, this has helped global revenues for mobilebroadband providers to grow by 45 per cent to reach £34.6 billion.

Moreover, the report has extrapolated this growth rate to make the prediction that mobilebroadband subscribers will pass one billion by the year 2013.

Richard Webb, WiMAX, microwave and mobile devices analyst at Infonetics Research, said that more reliable mobile connections have contributed to the industry's growth over the past year.

"With HSPA [high-speed packet access] going live around many parts of the world, mobilebroadband adoption accelerated in 2008, as mobile networks finally started to deliver on the promise of high-speed mobile access," he explained.

"Growth in the number of mobilebroadband subscribers hit triple-digit per cents in all the major world regions in 2008, indicating a booming market."

Recent research by Broadband Expert warned that mobilebroadband users who are not aware of their download limits could be leaving themselves open to a hefty bill.