Mikael Persson, strategy and business development manager for WCMDA RAN, says flat rates encourage customers to use more mobile services and are key to making mobile broadband a success. He says: "Megabyte charging models are confusing to consumers. We need flat rate-oriented pricing schemes to sell data because flat rates mean consumers understand what they are buying.

"Traditional time-based pricing schemes may work for voice, but when it comes to data, it's difficult for consumers to estimate how long it will take to download a file or a page, which in turn makes it hard to understand what it will cost. And what you don't understand, you don't buy - it's as simple as that."

Persson says there is a trend towards offering flat rates and that there are many advantages for the mobile broadband operator. These include steady income streams from subscribers, which provide operators with permanent and recurring monthly revenues. Predictability also makes successful financial planning and forecasting easier. Predictability of costs and peace of mind are also important end-user criteria for both the consumer and enterprise segments, he says.

Ericsson's solutions play a major role in providing mobile broadband operators with attractive flat-rate business cases. Persson says: "Today, 3G systems have reached the point where they can combine mobility and availability with the bit rates broadband users have come to expect, making for a true broadband experience."

The introduction of HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) functionality enables considerably higher bit rates, while greatly reducing the cost of delivering a wide range of mobile broadband services. Persson says: "Ericsson's latest HSPA technology introduces enhancements both in the uplink and the downlink, boosting network capacity and cutting response times for interactive services."

An essential benefit of Ericsson's WCDMA/HSPA solution is the ability to mix services that have different characteristics. This allows operators to guarantee that spectral and network capacity are always being used to drive profitability. It also provides the ability to address multiple revenue sources, telephony and broadband with one investment and one cost structure.

Moves to include mobile broadband modules in every notebook and fixed wireless terminal for rural areas where 3G could replace ADSL are set to give mobile broadband an even stronger foothold in the market. Mats Norin, head of Ericsson Embedded Modules, says Ericsson wants HSPA functionality embedded as a standardized module in all notebooks and is expecting that up to 50 percent of all notebooks will have embedded HSPA functionality by 2011. Mobile broadband modules will drive the mobile broadband mass market, but for this to work around the world, it is important that roaming tariffs are reduced to a reasonable level.

Ericsson will also address home networks in areas with poor copper infrastructure by providing HSPA modules to fixed wireless terminals similar to today's home gateways and modems. Norin says: "Fixed wireless terminals offer a cost-efficient way of providing high-speed data to small office and residential users.

"The continued growth in mobile broadband is creating opportunities for a new type of broadband market where broadband is everywhere and where fixed and mobile access complement each other - what we call Full Service Broadband. We advise mobile operators to consider abandoning traditional volume-based pricing schemes in favor of broadband business models that maximize the benefits of 3G technologies."