Analyst Angle (Special MWC Edition): Operators should position mobile broadband as a complement to fixed broadband, not a substitute

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry.
Mobile broadband operators should prepare for a decline in market growth. Recent research from Analysys Mason’s “Connected Consumer” – surveying 6,000 consumers – indicates that interest in mobile broadband among non-subscribers has declined slightly in all markets between 2009 and 2010 and subscriptions to mobile broadband are unlikely to grow at the same high level during the next year as they did in previous years. Operators’ best strategy to slow the decline in mobile broadband uptake is to emphasise the unique selling point of mobile broadband – its mobility.
Mobility is the easiest method for selling mobile broadband into a customer base used to the benefits of fixed broadband: 66% of non-mobile-broadband subscribers consider it a key factor in motivating them to buy the service – ahead of price, convenience and other perks such as cheaper service bundles and access to premium content. This is positive news for operators as other potential motivations – such as network improvements and price reductions – hit operators’ pockets, whereas mobile broadband’s mobility does not. Network improvements are costly to implement and, given the cost pressure on mobile broadband, it is unlikely that operators will reduce prices any further.
Attempts to sell mobile broadband as a substitute to fixed are likely to fail as there is a strong perception among consumers that mobile broadband is not as fast, more unreliable and more pricey than fixed broadband. Over 70% of those expressing an opinion in our consumer survey agreed with statements that mobile broadband was slower, less reliable and more expensive than fixed. The differences between the two will become increasingly apparent as fixed operators deploy more fibre and double