12 March 2008
Due to the increased accessibility of mobile broadband, Wi-Fi hotspots may quickly become irrelevant, one expert has claimed.
Johan Bergendahl, Chief Marketing Officer at Ericsson, stated that W-Fi hotspots could no longer be necessary due to the rise of mobile broadband.
This is because the increasing capabilities of mobile broadband are translating into lower prices for consumers, Mr Bergendahl told a conference in Sweden.
"Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era," he commented.
"In a few years, [mobile broadband] will be as common as Wi-Fi is today."
And in Austria, analysts are claiming that mobile broadband services will overtake fixed broadband solutions in 2008, he added. He also suggested that service providers will have to collaborate in order to solve international roaming issues if high-speed packet access is to prevail.
Recently, an official from Aladin Enterprises, Alastair Dinwiddie, revealed that plans are in place to improve broadband coverage in areas of north-east England such as Teesdale.