As the economy gets worse, some bright spots do emerge, and the latest is the embedded 3G modem market — a boon for the operators that embrace it.
As 3G service got better, more ubiquitous and faster in 2008, modem manufacturers enjoyed an upswing in demand with shipments reaching 20 million units for the year, according to In-Stat.
Along with USB cards taking over as the dominant external form factor, there’s a growing emphasis on embedded modems, led by Ericsson and Qualcomm Inc.. And those embedded shipments will overtake external modem shipments by the end of 2011, says In-Stat.
The peak of the external modem market will be in 2010, when revenue “crescendos” at over $2.6 billion, the research firm noted.
