Mobile broadband is a wireless technology that provides access to the internet via mobile devices. With the vast adoption of mobile phones worldwide, the mobile industry such as mobile service has not only changed in scale, but also in use. The number of mobile subscriptions worldwide is forecast to increase from around 8 billion in 2018 to more than 9 billion by 2022. Asia Pacific is the leading region in regards to number of mobile subscriptions, with China and India accounting for the highest number of mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions in the world.
The growing mobility has a direct impact on lifestyle, as it opens up areas of demand for mobility-related services, such as mobile broadband and mobile service. The number of mobile broadband subscriptions has been on the rise since 2007 – there was an estimate number of 6.38 billion mobile broadband subscriptions in use worldwide in 2019, which is more than twice as many as in 2013. Again, the Asia Pacific region has the highest number of mobile broadband subscriptions, while Europe and the Americas have the highest number of mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.
Within the mobile industry, there are different technologies which are directly related to both network and broadband access. Today the most widely used mobile broadband technology is LTE (4G). In 2019, 56 percent of all mobile broadband connections worldwide are using the LTE (4G) technology. The rollout of 5G – the next generation of mobile broadband technology – is also well underway, with spectrum auctions complete in several major markets, and 5G handsets appearing on the market. By 2025, it is expected there will be 769 million 5G connections across North America and Europe, up from just three million in 2019.