Brand positioning is key to the mobile broadband companies as the market moves towards mass adoption in Western Europe. 

Thats the message from market analysis firm Frost & Sullivan in a new report called Mobile Broadband in Western Europe. The report says that mobile broadband providers have already started targeting various user segments, and with strong branding they can seek to gain market share and sustain revenue growth in the long term.

The report covers the markets in France, Germany, Italy, UK and Spain, and also analyses the following technologies: GSM, EDGE, GPRS, HSPA, HSPA+, LTE, WCDMA, WiMAX and WiFi in these markets. 

“European mobile broadband users have experienced several challenges related to QoS [quality of service], resulting in the growth rate beginning to decline after first two years of mobile broadband introduction in Western Europe,” says Jayashree Rajagopal, Frost & Sullivan research analyst. “The evolution of technologies such as HSPDA and LTE will help operators keep pace with the QoS requirements of mobile broadband consumers.”

Frost & Sullivan says that the number of mobile broadband subscribers in the UK will reach 52.2 million by 2015. The report points to the 2012 LTE spectrum auction as a means to boost the mobile broadband market and meet rising demand. However, the company says HSPDA will be the dominant mobile technology in the coming years, because of the time and investment required to establish LTE networks. The analysis also says that WiMAX has gained momentum in rural areas where mobile broadband is yet to arrive.