Skip to main content

Sluggish Cellular Modems Experience Growth

Boosted by very slow advancing 3G network deployment momentum, cellular modems are providing wireless connectivity to laptops, UMPCs and even desktop computers.

Moreover, 2007 data contained in a new market study from ABI Research reveals that cellular modem sales, including PC Cards, Express Cards, USB modems, embedded modems and 3G/Wi-Fi routers cumulatively, increased more than 300 percent compared to 2006.

The market research firm forecasts that by 2013, shipments of cellular modems will exceed 200 million units. Frankly, that seems very optimistic to me. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens.

According to principal analyst Dan Shey, "2007 saw cellular modems established as an important connectivity technology for operators as well as for the mobile customer."

However the growth of 2007 did not benefit just traditional market share leaders. Asia-Pacific vendors now control the majority of worldwide sales and they are bringing a completely new set of capabilities to the marketplace.

Says Shey, "The leading Asia-Pacific cellular modem vendors have robust portfolios of other telecommunications products and services. This positions them to compete for operator sales at a very different level, and is forcing changes to incumbent modem supplier business models."

The factors driving this market go beyond a very competitive modem supplier market and 3G networks. Enterprise customers have been the traditional buyers of these expensive devices and associated services, but operators have expanded their portfolio of mobile broadband price plans, opening up the market to SMB and some consumer demand.

In addition, Qualcomm's Gobi, the eventual consolidation to GSM 3G and 4G networks, and WiMAX will all have positive effects on the supply chain, creating cellular enabled devices which will drive up sales of embedded modems. At least, that's the expectation at this pint in time.

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year

Open Banking Usage to Grow by 470 Percent

The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ