Despite mobile broadband growth, fixed broadband ascends

Despite the growth of mobile broadband in recent years, sparked by the adoption of smartphones, fixed broadband subscribers grew 13 percent in 2009, according to ABI Research. Mobile broadband has revolutionized web access for millions of people - especially enterprise users - but fixed broadband is more reliable and normally much faster than wireless.Cities and towns struggling financially are seeking ways of improving broadband speed to draw new residents. As more products and services become available on the web and more people use the internet for entertainment, reliable high-speed broadband is the best way to attract those people - especially among young professionals."Fixed broadband is an attractive platform for the delivery of [internet protocol television], gaming services with low latency, rapid access to web content and secure access to non-building access points," Jake Saunders, ABI vice president for forecasting, said. "Technologies such as fiber-to-the-home, VDSL and GPON are helping to keep fixed broadband relevant to end-users."In parts of the world still without access to reliable broadband, it is unlikely that fixed broadband will become the preferred choice as these countries begin implementing it. According to Business Daily Africa, parts of the continent currently trying to bring its residents broadband prefer mobile broadband.