More Wireless Modems Shipped Last Year Than Ever Before, Study Finds
January 27, 2009 by Rico Mossesgeld
Filed under Press, Services
Thanks to providers offering more 3G-based services to its customers, sales of wireless modems breached the 20 million mark in 2008, according to analyst firm In-Stat:
The market is experience two major trends, said In-Stat. Modem form factors are increasingly moving away from PC Cards toward USB modems, and embedded modems are becoming more popular. The firm predicts embedded modem shipments will exceed external modem shipments by 2011, following a peak year in 2010 when external modems will generate $2.6 billion in revenues.
This trend seems to be a rewarding one for those who invested in 3G services and infrastructure, as “investment in good times are paying dividends in lean years.” The study further reports that providers continue to increase the number of their 3G subscribers.
Unfortunately, what does this increased demand mean for the 3G consumer in general? Are service providers increasing their capacity at the same time, while attracting more customers? Will they try to support more users with the same bandwidth? Hopefully that won’t be the case. My experience with wireless broadband has been less than stellar; the consistency of a 3G signal seems more about the time of the day and your location, and less about who’s providing the data coverage.
(Image from notebookreview.com)
