As sale of new devices with integrated mobile broadband connectivity is  stimulated by new devices from Etisalat’s latest  3.75G Easyblaze, MTN’sFastlink, Starcomms Izap, Glo’s 3G  and Swift network modems make major inroads into the mass market, even as more aggressive tariffs from mobile operators take pre-eminence, what growth opportunity  is there  for the business community.? Asks Princewill Ekwujuru.

According to a new Strategy Analytics report, the installed base of mobile broadband modems would have grown above a staggering 415 million devices by 2014 worldwide, thereby highlighting the need for true, ubiquitous mobility, that enables users to engage with their contacts and content whatever their location.

Decreasing  module costs and greater variety of pre and post pay tariff plans are making mobile broadband more accessible, allowing more people to access their content wherever and whenever they desire.

Going forward, emerging markets with introduction of faster modem devices in the spirit of light, Nigeria and other African countries will witness major opportunities for growth, particularly data and business information download.

These reasons and more may have moved Etisalat Nigeria to introducing its high speed Broadband internet service, christened Easyblaze in sections of the cities, to be precise, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, Aba and 10 others.

The rollout of the High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) 3.75G technology offering speeds up to 42Mbps, allows etisalat subscribers achieve high speed internet access, faster file downloads, video calling and streaming and other related activities.

Accordingly, the new broadband internet service is sold with a wide range of data plans designed for all segments of the market. These plans can be used on a wide range of mobile devices from smartphones, tablets, routers and USB modems, from the Etisalat portfolio.

Speaking on the deployment of the new technology, Etisalat’s  Chief Executive Officer, Steven Evans, said the HSPA+ network launch is an evidence of the substantial investment the telecommunication company committed in response to customer’s need.

According to him, “After the successful deployment of voice services, the next big thing is mobile broadband, and there’s a pent up demand for data services in this market and we are committed to meeting this demand of our subscribers. The deployment of 3.75G HSPA+ technology on our network is in line with the company’s vision of a world in which technology extends people’s reach on all fronts”.

“We have made a substantial direct investment in infrastructure with a significant portion deployed into the construction of the GSM network infrastructure and the introduction of HSPA+ technology which will deliver reliable high speed broadband that will represent a change in internet connectivity and data transfer for our customers”, he added.

Substantiating the CEO’s position, Wael Ammar, Etisalat’s Chief Commercial Officer, said,   ”With the launch of commercial data services based on HSPA+ technology, our customers are now in position to enjoy compelling voice and data packages that keep them atop of their business and personal lives.

For MTN’s FastLink,  the story is not different from the assurance Evans gave on its latest modem which give users the opportunity for great video streaming and large files transfer, supports HSDPA 7.2 uplinkdownlink speed, compatible with laptops and Installs automatically.