Small-medium Business Mobile Broadband Adoption is Higher than in Large Enterprises

(Business News & Technology News, 5 Nov 2008)

Companies larger than 1,000 employees have highly mobile workforces driven by the global reach of their operations. They also have extensive IT support, which offers globetrotting employees assistance with mobile services. These characteristics bode well for adoption of mobile broadband services. However a new study from ABI Research based on survey analysis of United States mobile business customers shows that enterprises are not the highest adopters of cellular modems and mobile broadband access.

"The survey data demonstrate that mobile broadband reaches across all sizes of company with greater adoption in small and medium businesses. Our research identifies two key drivers: first, all businesses are familiar with data access from a PC, and laptops and mobile broadband simply make this access portable. Second, there is no distribution favoritism towards business customers. Mobile broadband can be purchased from big box electronics and operator retail stores," says Dan Shey, principal analyst.

Shey adds that the mobile broadband market is nascent, with many early adopters; this limits many segmentation effects. "The significance of mobile broadband is that it adds complexity to the use and purchase of all mobile services. But even mobile broadband will see complexity through different device purchasing patterns by customer segments, ranging from USB modems through laptops to UMPCs and MIDs, and 3G handsets," says Shey.

Click here for more information on ABI Research