The future of mobile broadband and Wi-Fi?

There are some that argue mobile broadband will one day take over from fixed-line completely, while others see the rise and rise of the smartphone sounding the death knell for the mobile broadband dongle.

So which camp, if any, is right? Some of the smaller news stories caught the eye this week, and seem to score points for both sides.

Firstly, Nomad Digital announced it is launching an on board passenger Wi-Fi service on six East Midlands trains, with another 20 or so to follow. It now has Wi-Fi on more than 1,500 vehicles worldwide and increasingly Wi-Fi on UK trains is becoming standard, especially on longer journeys. 

Traditionally, one of mobile broadband's biggest selling points is you can use it 'on the move' - so how is this diminishing as both coach and train companies continue to add Wi-Fi to their stable of vehicles?

For now, at least, it seems mobile broadband dongles are safe. In my experience, and that of other people I've spoken to, public transport Wi-Fi is patchy at best, rarely being reliable for a whole journey - if you can get a connection at all. 

Also, many simply don't trust public connections. While tourists, students and the like are happy to use public Wi-Fi, many business users in particular are still nervous about the privacy implications of public Wi-Fi and are happier sticking to a dongle, in which they trust more.

While the jury may be out for now on public transport Wi-Fi, there are definite implications for dongles in the future.

In the good news for dongles camp, though, was a report from Starhome that indicated the 'global roamer' is back on the map, thanks to a general decrease in mobile broadband roaming prices.

Starhome is in the business of being an "acknowledged driving force of roaming services for mobile network operators", so it's hardly surprising it falls in the good news for dongles category. That said, it's great news for mobile broadband operators that roaming is on the rise - or is it?

But for a few bean counters at mobile broadband head offices, few would argue that roaming was a complete rip off in the EU before the European Parliament stepped in and put caps on the charges. And, surprise surprise, the new lower mobile broadband roaming prices have seen this reported upturn in usage.

Also, despite the rise in Wi-Fi services worldwide, both fears over privacy and language barriers will still see the good old dongle being the preferred option when heading off on holiday.

However, with profits on roaming reduced, it's unlikely mobile broadband operators will be going out of their way to promote such services. It's much more likely they will find a new cash cow to hammer the public with, until Ofcom/the EU/Parliament (delete as applicable) steps in yet again to slap them on the wrist.

Also, while the cost of roaming has been reduced, particularly in the EU, it is still prohibitively expensive in terms of large usage such as streaming and downloading - areas the good old laptop/dongle combo are superior to the new smartphone.

Smartphones really are on the rise, with their social networking and email capabilites a real boon and rarely effected due to a small screen size. This means they eat way less data (especially as images are also usually condesnsed), making them a great option for roaming. 

So, overall, it would seem the jury is still out. Mobile broadband needs both speed and reliability hikes to come soon, and not be weighed down by big price increases. Wi-Fi needs to be fast, reliable and affordable while also doing a lot to convince the public it is safe to surf in public. Until then, the stand off continues.