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Mobile broadband users may desert fixed ISPs

Are you one of the increasing number of people to have left the wires at home, plugged in a dongle and tried out the wonders of mobile broadband? If so, you could be unwittingly contributing to the eventual death of traditional broadband connections, according to a new study by market researchers YouGov.

The marketing consultants found that one in eight customers have either replaced their fixed line with mobile broadband, or have chosen a mobile broadband service over a conventional ISP service.

And there's further bad news for the ISPs, with 5% of those currently using both a wired home connection and mobile broadband saying they intend to dispense with the former within the next 12 months.

The YouGov research team noted that "accessing the Internet through the mobile phone network is a viable option especially for the young and mobile"�, particularly in light of the fact that 13% of people had recently got rid of their landline connections. Lower mobile broadband costs are seen as another potential nail in the coffin of the providers of traditional home broadband.

But we needn't sound the death knell just yet. YouGov warns that mobile broadband will have to improve considerably if it is to replace - or even properly rival - home broadband. More than a quarter of the people surveyed said they were unlikely to renew their mobile broadband contract, citing slow speeds and high costs as the reasons why.

"Customers find mobile broadband easy to use and install but transmission speeds and to a lesser extent network coverage reduce the initial enjoyment of getting up and running," said Marek Vaygelt, head of technology and telecommunications consulting at YouGov, adding that it's in these areas where fixed ISPs have an advantageous selling point to promote in the battle against mobile broadband.

The growing benefits and burgeoning user base of mobile broadband means it could one day provide a rival to landline internet access, but with improvement to the service needed it seems ISPs won't be losing sleep just yet.

19/08/2008
Author: CompareBroadbandUK staff writer

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