Data caps are pretty silly. Sure, I understand their purpose but the real reason they exist is so that mobile carriers can make more money- nickel and diming so to speak. Some of the caps are pretty low, so low that it would be hard to manage especially when you have multiple devices using the same data plan. That’s not stopping consumers from adding tablets to their mobile data plans, however.
New research from Strategy Analytics suggests that nearly 40 million tablets are currently connected and using an active 3G or 4G network. In comparison, that’s double the amount tablets with an active data plan in 2012.
Analysts from the company predict that by 2017, 165 million tablets will be connected to mobile data plans, which is nearly eight times the amount of connected tablets in 2012. In other words, more and more people are using their tablet to connect to a 3G or 4G network. It makes sense though, considering the rising popularity of said devices. Tablets in general are great tools, but without an active internet connection their functionality is very limited.
Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, an analyst with the Strategy Analytics firm, says that connected tablets were actually one of the main drivers of mobile subscriptions for the year.
“Mobile broadband tablets represent an important incremental growth opportunity for wireless operators. While direct mobile broadband subscriptions on tablets represent less than 10 percent of the total tablet installed base in 2012, they were a key driver of positive postpaid net additions at leading operators AT&T and Verizon Wireless in Q1 2013.”
Apparently, the US, China, Japan and UK will all be leading markets for tablet subscriptions over the coming years. Brazil and India will see the most growth in emerging markets.
It’s funny that this information comes at a time shortly after Thorsten Heins, the CEO of Blackberry claimed that tablets are just a current fad. We’ve heard that statement before from many others, as well. This new research suggests otherwise, especially if consumers are using them with mobile data plans.
What do you think of all this?
Via BGR