Have 3G operators finally found a ‘killer app’ with mobile broadband?

The successful commoditisation of high-speed wireless-internet access as “mobile broadband” may have eventually supplied 3G operators with the missing link in their service proposition - a “killer app”. Recent announcements from two of the largest 3G operators in Western Europe have highlighted the increasing momentum behind mobile broadband from a customer perspective, although fears about the excessive cost of cross-border usage are continuing to limit the market for roaming. The take-up of mobile broadband services has been inextricably linked to the supply of dongles for laptop and notebook connectivity on HSPA networks and has risen inexorably as more and more embedded devices come on the market. Vodafone recently reported a 19 per cent rise in group revenues to £9.8 billion (US$19.4 billion) in 2Q08, with data revenues... [read full story]