Broadband dongles keep divided market going

The broadband market is progressing along a divided line, thanks to dongles' contribution to USB sales.

ABI Research reports that dongles have helped to drive sales of USB modems higher in recent months.

By comparison, the economic turbulence has seen integrated broadband modems sell in smaller numbers as business customers placed a moratorium on upgrades.

With economies recovering, integrated modems are predicted to see growth in the coming years, while dongles for mobile broadband connections should remain popular.

From a current ratio of more than three dongles sold for each built-in modem, ABI Research expects a rate of 1.2 dongles per modem by 2016.

The current integrated modems market saw growth last year as tablet form factors gained popularity in the PCs market - particularly the Apple iPad.

However, price pressure could see more manufacturers leave modems out of their models in the future, preferring to let customers add broadband connectivity externally, ABI Research forecasts.