NPD Says Active Mobile Broadband Connections to Double
Port Washington, NY (PRWEB) April 15, 2014 -- By the end of 2015, active mobile broadband devices are forecast to reach 34 million, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2013, according to The NPD Group Connected Intelligence Mobile Broadband Market Share and Forecast Report. Two-thirds (66 percent) of those devices will be tablets.
Driven primarily by enterprise demand, USB stick modems were the primary mobile broadband devices until the end of 2012. Standalone mobile hotspots gained popularity in 2011 and 2012, but both devices have seen substantial declines over the year as more consumers are utilizing the hotspot features on their tablets and smartphones.
Tablets currently account for 40 percent of mobile broadband connections, and as USB sticks and mobile hotspots decline, carriers will need to boost adoption of the connected tablet. As this shift occurs the price of embedded cellular tablet should rapidly decline.
“Tablets are the next subscriber battleground for the carriers,” said Brad Akyuz, director, Connected Intelligence. “The decline in ASPs, coupled with the intensified pricing competition, will further boost connected tablet adoption in the coming years. AT&T currently leads in active tablets connections, but we anticipate Verizon Wireless will surpass AT&T by the end of 2015. While all of this is great news for consumers who want an always-on tablet, it could drive the carrier market back into a subsidized device model just as this is beginning to fade for smartphones.”
Methodology
The Mobile Broadband Market Share and Forecast Report is published quarterly and uses a mix of various proprietary sources including NPD’s consumer panel and point-of-sale data, as well as public sources such as U.S. wireless carrier financial and operational KPI data to size the U.S. mobile broadband market by device type, carrier and revenue.
About Connected Intelligence
Connected Intelligence provides competitive intelligence and insight on the rapidly evolving consumer’s connected environment. The service focuses on the three core components of the connected market: the device, the broadband access that provides the connectivity and the content that drives consumer behavior. These three pillars of the connected ecosystem are analyzed through a comprehensive review of what is available, adopted, and consumed by the customer, as well as reviewing how the market will evolve over time and what the various vendors can do to best position themselves in this evolving market. For more information: http://www.connected-intelligence.com. Follow Connected Intelligence on Twitter: @npdci.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group provides global information and advisory services to drive better business decisions. By combining unique data assets with unmatched industry expertise, we help our clients track their markets, understand consumers, and drive profitable growth. Sectors covered include automotive, beauty, consumer electronics, entertainment, fashion, food / foodservice, home, luxury, mobile, office supplies, sports, technology, toys, and video games. For more information, visit http://www.npd.com and npdgroupblog.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdtech and @npdgroup.
Sarah Bogaty, The NPD Group, http://www.npd.com, 516-625-2357, [email protected]
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