By Telecom Lead Team: The number of
tablet devices offered by operators is growing with many providing at least
five different tablets. 4G/LTE plans, increasingly prevalent in mobile
broadband offers, are now starting to appear specifically for tablets.
Q4 2011 brought rapid growth in
tablet tariffs in all countries. Currently, nearly 35 percent of all plans
included in the Mobile Broadband Price Benchmarking system are now
tablet-specific, compared to less than 30 percent in our September 2011 update.
Operators today offer on average 4-5
tablet devices usually a first- or second-generation iPad, a 7 or 10-inch
Samsung Galaxy Tab, and increasingly, an operator-branded tablet device.
Given the scale and speed of LTE/4G
developments, Strategy Analytics predicts that the number of tablet-specific
LTE/4G plans will grow rapidly over the next 6 to 12 months.
Q4 2011 brought rapid growth in tablet
tariffs in all countries. Currently, nearly 35 percent of all plans included in
the Mobile Broadband Price Benchmarking system are now tablet-specific,
compared to less than 30 percent in our September 2011 update,” said Pawel
Kmiec of Strategy Analytics.
Recently, Strategy Analytics said
the global combined shipments of corporate-liable and personal-liable business
use tablets quadrupled to reach 30 million units in 2011, and will increase to
over 40 million units in 2012.
Enterprise use tablets to grow to 40
million units in 2012 from 30 million in 2011
Factors
such as robust personal-liable device demand; lower wholesale device pricing;
and rapidly expanding distribution channels will drive the growth.
Businesses
are finding increasing potential for tablets in the workplace in the sales
force, with high-flyer C executives and with field workers. Although businesses
represent a small portion of the global tablet market to date, the opportunity
and potential for personal-liable BYOD tablets to transform the enterprise is
huge following on the success of the iPad.
