Oct/Nov 2008

You're likely to see a new logo appearing with increasing frequency on laptop computers and similar devices with embedded HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) modules: 'Mobile Broadband'.

The GSM Association is leading industry in pushing the Mobile Broadband legend and associated logo – partly, it would seem, as a response to the ubiquitous Centrino branding (implying built-in Wi-Fi connectivity) on Intel-powered computers.

Embedded HSPA modules currently cost around $70, GSMA says, so most users access services with plug-in cards supplied by their network operators. But the price could drop by half over the next 18 months, the association predicts.

GSMA says it expects a global media to spend a staggering $1 billion around this service marque within the next year to create awareness of mobile broadband access.

 

ABI Research says awareness of embedded mobile broadband has not been high, as it is the network operators who have so far been the main proponents of mobile broadband, primarily through sales of PC Cards and USB modems.

It sees the new initiative extending awareness, though it warns that use of a generic branding such as this could make it harder for suppliers to differentiate their services. Ovum, too, has questioned whether the ultimate benefits of the initiative will be justified by the cost.

Initially 16 suppliers are backing the scheme, but not Intel, a major supplier of Wi-Fi and WiMAX chipsets, which could compete increasingly with mobile phone-based broadband.