Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/06/22/uk_mobile_broadband_sales/

Brits are bored with mobile broadband

But are sales plummeting?

By Drew Cullen

Posted in Networks, 22nd June 2010 13:19 GMT

UK mobile broadband sales are tumbling as consumers have figured out that the technology does not live up to its billing.

So says Broadband Expert, which notes a 57 per cent drop in the number of people signing up for mobile broadband via the price comparison site. Sales sank from 3000-ish in May 2009 to 1,300 in May 2010.

The site points to Hitwise data, which reports a fall of more than 50 per cent in the number of searches in the same period.

Rob Webber, Broadband Expert’s commercial director, says: “Mobile broadband experienced phenomenal growth in the UK as consumers expected all the benefits of a home broadband connection whilst on the move. “Sadly the technology has not lived up to the hype; we receive a huge amount of feedback from customers complaining of inconsistent or non-existent connections and speeds comparable to dial-up or worse.”

But is he right? Falling new sales does not equate to falling usage. And falling sales through Broadband Expert does not equate to falling mobile broadband sales per se.

Webber reckons that the arrival of much faster LTE, or '4G' networks will give mobile broadband sales a new kicker - but he says the UK is lagging at least 12-18 months behind front-runners in the US and Europe. ®

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