At present mobile workers have two possibilities for accessing broadband out of the office, Wireless LAN and mobile broadband. But only one of these offers true mobility.

Andrei Dulski, who is responsible for mobile broadband at Ericsson's Business Unit Access, says: "WLAN is to mobile broadband what a cordless phone is to a mobile phone: it provides very limited mobility. Ericsson wants to do to broadband what we did to telephony 20 years ago; that is we want to free it up, to make it available to everyone, everywhere. The mobile broadband device, just as a mobile phone, is always connected and the end user never has to think about the technology."

Leading PC manufacturers are integrating high-speed data packet access (HSDPA) capabilities into laptops, making laptops in essence, 3G devices. From the other end, operators have been rolling out 3G networks and offering mobile broadband services. Prices for laptops and 3G terminals are nearly the same these days and many operators are exploring the possibly of subsidizing laptops for consumers, much as they did with mobile phones. This means laptops could soon be given away or offered at substantially reduced prices when people sign up for a mobile broadband subscription.

Dulski says: "Laptops will drive 3G usage. Traditional broadband has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, and now the broadband terminal (the PC) is going mobile. Broadband behavior is already established, and with laptops getting smaller and more affordable, and 3G networks capable of offering broadband speeds, the opportunities for operators are ripe.

"WLAN is a good technology but it has its limits. For true mobility, mobile broadband is the only game in town. Consumers don't want to figure out which technology to use or to reconfigure their network connections. With mobile broadband consumers have one connection, they are always connected whether at home or on the go, and they can get service quality similar to that provided by ADSL services today."

Enterprise users are likely to be the first to take up mobile broadband because, for them, mobility is key. Productivity will be improved as out-of-the-office employees access enterprise networks, which will translate into a mobility premium. As with traditional broadband, operators will likely be offering flat-rate services, giving consumers and operators predictable costs and revenue streams.

Mobile broadband started in Sweden with the introduction of flat rates by 3G operator 3 in September last year. Shortly thereafter Vodafone and TeliaSonera introduced their services. Since then, mobile broadband has spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world.