OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-Fixed-line operators should be concerned about competition from High-Speed Downlink Packet Access technology, according to a report from ABI Research titled, “HSDPA-Mobile Broadband.”
Trial systems using the technology-which will bump typical transmission speeds up from 300 kilobits per second with UMTS technology to 3 megabits per second with HSDPA networks-could happen by mid-year, according to the report.
Many consumers, especially those in the younger segments, are already giving up fixed lines for mobile, said the report. The one factor that keeps people using fixed lines is broadband data, but HSDPA will eat away at that.
“It may be true that cellular operators will have to continue to enhance their networks in terms of voice quality, in-building penetration, and assurance of competitive pricing,” said Alan Varghese, principal analyst for semiconductor research at ABI Research. “But those problems will eventually be solved. And that may spell the beginning of the end for fixed line as we know it today.”
