Irish small to medium enterprise (SMEs) owners are open to the benefits to mobile broadband for their business, a study has shown.

According to poll conducted by TNS/MRBI for O2 Ireland, 35 per cent of entrepreneurs quizzed who already use a laptop said that they are considering opting for mobile broadband.

Meanwhile, 95 per cent said they were familiar with wireless broadband technology and 75 per cent were aware of the USB modems that are employed in delivering the service, vnu.net reports.

However, just 14 per cent of the study group already have mobile broadband, suggesting that there is considerable scope for the service to grow.

Commenting, on the findings Billy D'Arcy, spokesman for O2, said that mobile broadband could even prove a solution to the relatively low levels of broadband connectivity in the country.

He said: "The slow roll out of fixed line broadband in many cases could be compensated for by mobile broadband."

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