The number of mobile broadband users will rise to 418 million by 2017, as more and more people get moving with netbooks and laptops, according to a report released today.
That growth in online users will drive operator revenues up by 140 per cent to $47.7 billion (29 billion) globally, Coda Research Consultancy also forecast.
However, the report said that Europe will see the slowest growth rate 11 per cent from 2009 to 2017.
"User growth in Europe will be helped by aggressive competition between operators, declining subscription costs, increased speeds and availability, low cost dongles and increasing proportions of households employing mobile broadband as an alternative to fixed line broadband," the report said. "However, these factors will also mean that Europe will experience least revenue growth."
The report still predicted that Europe would see $13 billion in revenue from mobile broadband via laptops in 2017.
The report also outlined how Long Term Evolution technology (LTE) used in the progression towards 4G will grow globally, with developing countries that don't have 3G leap-frogging straight to it.
However, it warned that the ongoing debate on spectrum will delay giving Europe a "competitive edge" in using the technology.
