Mobile broadband (MBB) adoption continues and is transitioning towards mass adoption in Europe but also in other parts of the world (especially developed countries). It is mainly fuelled by smartphones, but also by notebooks/ netbooks and since the emergence of iPad in 2010 the focus has also changed towards the tablet market. This has led to an exponential rise in data traffic, which has not generated a proportional increase in revenue for mobile network operators. Previously affordable all you can eat/ unlimited packages (with no cap) were the norm in order to spur demand for mobile data while majority has now shifted to tiered data capped plans or unlimited data plans with maximum usage or speed caps. More than ever operators are in need of finding new mobile data pricing models, which will fund the future development of their networks in order to sustain further growth.
This research brief looks at and analyses operators' MBB laptop/ notebook/ netbook offerings in 16 Western European countries during the fourth quarter of 2011 (excl. special iPad or tablet packages) and compares them with the second quarter of 2011. A separate research brief will be dedicated to special iPad/ tablet only packages. Although often same packages are offered for tablets. Main conclusions of this research brief are: monthly average MBB tariffs decreased slightly in most countries (10 out of 16), but continue to vary significantly across Western Europe. MBB prices in the Netherlands have come down from being the highest in Q1 2009 to the seven highest in Q4 2011, while Finland, UK and Ireland remain one of the lowest. Dutch MBB penetration -via notebook/netbook/tablet- remains limited, as according to our estimates it stood at around 6% of the total Dutch population in Q3 2011.
