Report: Mobile broadband set to alter wireless space through 2025

Following up on research released last year, WiseHarbor Research reiterated its stance that LTE-based mobile broadband technologies will continue to lead the industry, while WiMAX-based solutions will peak in 2015 before tapering off at the hands of LTE-TDD technologies.
The firm notes that LTE will become the leading technology by the end of decade, with HSPA-based technologies remaining “very strong” in the market, and GSM and CDMA expected to continue beyond 2020. Overall, mobile operators are expected to increase equipment spending at an annual rate of 3.3%, with the strongest growth coming from developing regions.
WiseHarbor founder Keith Mallinson noted that the rise of mobile broadband technology will have a commanding influence echoing what 2G-based technologies were able to achieve over the past 15 years.
“Mobile broadband will do for Internet connections-averaging several gigabytes usage per month by 2020-what 2G has achieved over the last 15 years in providing voice and text communication to more than half the world’s population with 5 billion connections including those with multiple subscriptions,” Mallinson said.
The WiseHarbor report notes that cellular technology will continue to post “stellar growth” due to its cost, convenience and pervasive nature in connecting people. The push into mobile broadband services will help carriers in mature markets offset saturation in the voice and messaging services, with “two-sided operator charging, of content providers as well as end users,” becoming the “norm.”
The report also predicts that on the back of new device segments, mobile device sales will surge from 1.6 billion units in 2010 to 3.9 billion in 2025, with handset revenue expected to flatten by 2015 following the recent run up tied to increased sales of smartphones. Total global mobile connections are also expected to rise to 21.5 billion units, or 2.7 devices per person, by 2025.
All of those connections are expected to propel data traffic more than 1,000-times current levels, which will dramatically cut operator revenue yields to one-tenth of one cent per megabyte by 2025.