Mobile Broadband

Home and Away

Publication Date	January 2009
Publisher	IDC
Product Type	Report
Pages	39
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	IDC06553

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Summary

This IDC study examines the Western European market for mobile broadband - that is, services providing consumers with broadband Internet access, using portable PCs that are connected via the cellular network. It provides guidance for maximizing the mobile broadband opportunity aimed at mobile operators, ISPs, device vendors, and network vendors.

Questions addressed by Mobile Broadband: Home and Away include the following:

What factors are driving demand for mobile broadband, and how will they develop during the next few years?
What factors could inhibit growth in uptake of mobile broadband?
To what extent could mobile broadband cannibalize fixed broadband, and how should fixed-mobile operators handle this issue?

John Delaney, IDC's European director of consumer mobile research and author of Mobile Broadband: Home and Away, said,

"Mobile broadband presents a big land-grab opportunity, both now and for several years to come. But although the service is simple in concept, its role in the consumer services market is complex. Mobility is only one among a variety of reasons why consumers like mobile broadband. Success in the market will depend critically on a clear understanding of how mobile broadband should be positioned, in the spectrum of mobile and Internet services."

Content

IDC Opinion
In This Study
- Methodology
- Executive Summary
Situation Overview
- The Strategic Context of Mobile Broadband
- At Last, Mobile Broadband Appeals to the Consumer
- Figure: The Barriers to Consumer Adoption of Mobile Broadband Have Got Progressively Lower
- Figure: Mobilkom (Austria) Demonstrates Rapid Growth in Mobile Broadband Subscriptions
- Uptake of Mobile Broadband Driven by Consumer Adoption of Portable PCs
- Mobile Becomes a Viable Choice for General Broadband Internet Access
  - Comparing Fixed and Mobile Broadband: Data Rates
  - Figure: Very Fast Access Data Rates do Not Greatly Improve Users' Experience of the Most Popular Internet Applications
  - Comparing Fixed and Mobile Broadband: Pricing
  - Comparing Fixed and Mobile Broadband: Set-Up and Connection
- Positioning Mobile Against Fixed Line in the Broadband Market
- Figure: The Advantages of Mobile Broadband and Fixed-Line Broadband are Distinct and Complementary
  - Scenario 1: Mobile Replaces Fixed
  - Scenario 2: Mobile is the First Broadband Subscription
  - Scenario 3: Mobile Supplements Fixed
  - How Much Does Mobile Broadband Cannibalize Fixed Broadband?
  - Figure: Mobile Broadband Customer Profiles Vary Widely, but There are More Incremental Than Substitutional Subscriptions
- Operators Should Address Cannibalization Through Bundling
  - Mobile-Only Operators can be Uninhibited in Their Pursuit of the Mobile Broadband Opportunity
  - Fixed-Mobile Operators Should be Equally Uninhibited About Mobile Broadband, Despite the Potential for Cannibalization
  - Mobile Broadband Can be Bundled With Other Mobile Services
- Current Mobile Broadband Service Offerings
  - Contract Tariffs
  - Rolling Monthly Tariffs
  - Prepaid/Pay as You Go
  - Fixed-Term Passes
  - Usage Limits
  - Access Devices
  - International Roaming
  - Fixed and Mobile Bundling
- Competitive Differentiation in Mobile Broadband
  - Data Rates
  - Coverage
  - Value-Added Services
- Mobile Broadband and MVNOs
Future Outlook
- Major Market Drivers Will Continue to Operate, Though Not All of Them as Strongly
- Figure: Obstacles to Mobile Broadband Growth Will Continue to Diminish
  - Trends in Network Speeds
  - Trends in Mobile Broadband Pricing
  - Trends in Access Devices
  - Trends in Portable PC Penetration
  - Figure: Shipments of Portable PCs (Laptops/Notebooks) in Western Europe* (Millions, 2007-2012)
- Addressable Market for Mobile Broadband Will Expand, Especially in Non-Cannibalizing Segments
  - "Supplementary" Broadband Customers
  - "Uncommitted" Broadband Customers
  - "Rental" Broadband Customers
- Factors That Could Impede the Growth of Mobile Broadband
  - The Economic Recession
  - Sharp Increases in Investment
  - Figure: Mobile Broadband Drives Rapid Growth in Network Traffic: Example, Denmark
  - Customer Dissatisfaction
Essential guidance
Learn More
- Related Research
  - Mobile Broadband Market Forecasts
  - Femtocell-Enabled Consumer Services in Western Europe: Forecast and Analysis, 2008-2012 (IDC #HW14Q, October 2008)
  - European Broadband Markets and Technologies
- Synopsis