Wireless broadband is taking off

Wireless broadband is set to leave fixed line in its tracks in the race for consumer take-up in coming years, according to forecasts by investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere.

According to The Age, GSJBW told clients in a research note that wireless broadband’s Australian market penetration is set to increase by 106% this year, and continue to more than double each year until 2010.

By contrast, the firm has cut its forecasts for plain old fixed line broadband, predicting market penetration growth of 63% this year and around 70% in 2009 and 2010.

The forecasts reflect the growing popularity of wireless broadband among consumers and a sharp increase if the value of wireless broadband deals as competition between service providers has increased.

“The Australian fixed-line broadband market is slowing,” analysts Christian Guerra and Raymond Tong wrote in the GSJBW note. “In our view, this reflects a combination of peaking household broadband penetration as well as the beginnings of wireless broadband substitution.”

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