Tablet Net Adds at Verizon Wireless, Sprint Lead Global Charge to 250 Million Tablet Mobile Broadband Subscriptions by 2018

-- Strategy Analytics Reports Highlight LTE, Shared Data Plans and 'Comes with Data' as Top Market Drivers

BOSTON, May 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tablets with mobile broadband subscriptions using 3G and 4G LTE will grow more than five times in the next five years to reach nearly 250 million in 2018 at a global level, according to the Strategy Analytics Wireless Operator Strategies (WOS) service report, "Global Active Mobile Broadband Tablet Subscription Forecast: 2010-2018"

Strategy Analytics: Global Tablet Mobile Broadband Subscriptions Forecast to Grow 5x from 2013-18

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Click here for the report: https://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=reportabstractviewer&a0=9608

Key Strategy Analytics predictions for the mobile broadband tablet market:

• 247 million tablet subscriptions by 2018, up from 45 million in 2013
• Attach rates only 45% of tablets with embedded mobile connectivity, had a data plan in 2013, which means only 10% of all tablets had a direct mobile broadband connection (excluding Wi-Fi connections via tethering).
• Biggest growth is in LTE: LTE will account for 92.4% of all tablet subscriptions by the end of 2018, overtaking 3G
• US wireless market growth: the US will add 50 million tablet subscriptions in the next five years; Verizon Wireless, Sprint and AT&T combined added nearly 1.5 million tablet subscriptions in Q1 2014.  
• Revenue and data traffic impact: Tablets will contribute US$26 billion to operator service revenues and generate over five million Terabytes of mobile data traffic in 2018.

Quotes:

Phil Kendall, Executive Director, Wireless Operator Strategies, commented: "In emerging markets, operators are seeing some success using their own-branded tablets to drive up the total addressable market for 3G / 4G tablets. We are also seeing more 'comes with data' models where device purchase includes a free monthly data allowance, such as HP's DataPass" 

Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Director, Wireless Operator Strategies said: "In markets with high wireless penetration rates, operators are driving tablet connections through use of shared data plans and add-on plans to encourage their existing phone user base to add a tablet to their account. For example, in the US, both Verizon Wireless and Sprint reported tablet net additions of over 500,000 in the first quarter this year."