Notebook PCs with HSPA to reach 49M in Europe in 5 years

The number of notebook computers equipped with HSPA/LTE mobile broadband connectivity in Europe will grow from 8.4 million last year to 49 million in 2013, a compound annual growth rate of 34.1%, according to new research from analyst firm Berg Insight.
The market will be driven by consumer demand for ubiquitous Internet access. Wireless connections won’t replace fixed networks, but mobile broadband will serve as a complementary access technology for secondary Internet access outside the home, said the firm.
The trend will tax mobile networks, creating a challenge for operators, said Berg. Mobile data traffic primarily generated by USB sticks and PC cards already exceeds mobile voice traffic in terms of volumes in some advanced markets. For example, in Sweden, half a million mobile broadband terminals are estimated to have generated twice as much network load as all 10 million handsets in the country combined.
“Every mobile broadband service provider has a dilemma,” said Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst at Berg Insight. “On the one hand they have a highly attractive proposition – a novel mobile service with high ARPU. On the other hand, the very popularity of the service stretches the mobile network infrastructure to its utmost limit – threatening to degrade the level of service for all subscribers.”
To date, operators have mainly dealt with the problem by imposing restrictions on data traffic. In addition, actual data speeds usually fall short of advertised rates due to lack of capacity. Therefore, the report concludes carriers must make significant network investments quickly to keep up with demand.