According to one industry official more than a million Brits could be enjoying the benefits of mobile broadband by the end of this year

In a recent speech, Kevin Russell, the Chief Executive of media giant 3, has said that he expects more than a million Brits to be using mobile broadband by the end of this year. Russell said that mobile broadband has really taken off, and said that since the launch of the firm’s mobile broadband service in the latter part of last year data traffic has rocketed on its 3G network with pay as you go mobile broadband deals proving particularly popular.

However, whilst this leap shows that mobile broadband has really taken off it has also highlighted the risks. One industry analyst, Emeka Obiodu, stated: “Given the increasing acrimonious debate between ISPs and media outlets such as the BBC, network capacity will become an issue soon. If fixed-line broadband providers with their ‘unlimited’ usage offers are complaining now, mobile operators will have more of a problem dealing with capacity issues later on, especially in their backhaul infrastructure.”

Mr Russell also said that whilst many people were taking mobile broadband as an alternative to fixed line the connection was not always as reliable. He said: “We have definitely seen some customers taking mobile broadband as an alternative to fixed-line. I don’t believe mobile broadband is as good as fixed… I’m not going to bang a drum and say mobile will replace it.”

Meanwhile, Mr Obiodu did seem to agree that mobile broadband is set to continue growing. He added: “While the technical abilities of mobile broadband will continue to lag behind fixed, continued refinement, better pricing and increased awareness will ensure mobile broadband will grow steadily across the world.”