Ericsson expects that mobile broadband subscriptions could reach 1 billion by the end of 2011 after surpassing the half-a-billion mark in 2010. Strong growth in the smartphone, connected laptop, and tablet markets are driving this growth.
The Asia Pacific is expected to see the greatest growth, reaching 400 million subscriptions. North America and Western Europe are each expected to reach 200 million subscriptions.
Ericsson also expects that this growth will continue, reaching 3.8 billion mobile broadband subscriptions (HSPA, CDMA, LTE) in 2015.