Cellular Modem Sales: 300 Million by 2017

Sales of external modems are predicted to show a marked uplift driven by cellular hotspot routers according to a Strategy Analytics report. The study predicts cellular modem sales growth of 16% CAGR, from 150 million units in 2012 to 312 million in 2017. By 2017, more than 35% of external modems are expected to be mobile hotspot routers, driven by growth in consumer electronics (CE) devices such as eBook readers, tablets and ultrabooks. The ubiquity of WiFi in devices has stimulated demand for cellular hotspot routers, a singular cellular appliance that can connect multiple WiFi devices, requiring only one data subscription.