Mobile broadband is a type of high-speed Internet access used by portable or wireless devices, such as laptop computers, cellphones, USB modems, or other devices using portable modems, including satellite systems. The rapid expansion of broadband use (up to some 400% to more than 60 million users in the US since 2003) has led telecommunications manufacturers to develop international standards. In 2002, the Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers approved the international Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Working Group for this purpose. The goal is to enable worldwide, affordable broadband all the time for private and business users.
Last year in the UK, Digital Britain (established to promote broadband expansion), recommended that the government introduce 100% broadband coverage by 2012. Extending broadband coverage is vital for undeveloped countries, as research has found a direct link between mobile broadband access to information and services and economic development. Improved access to information via broadband also benefits school systems, health care, and government services. To cite just one example, mobile broadband is helping a village health project in Rwanda, where a doctor can consult colleagues on the Internet about which medicines to prescribe.
Broadband just keeps on growing: According to telecommunications giant Ericsson, more than 4 billion people worldwide will have mobile broadband subscriptions by 2011. This is directly related to development, as a 2007 report by the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) found that economic growth was boosted by 1.2 percent for every 10% rise in mobile broadband users.