Mobile broadband subscriptions are poised to hit the one billion mark by the end of the year, according to Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network gear maker.

The announcement highlights the surge in mobile users across the globe—in 2010, the number of mobile subscriptions was 500 million, half the current Ericsson forecast.

Cheap laptop computers, tablet computers such as Apple’s iPad and smartphones such as the iPhone have driven internet use on-the-go, said Ericsson in a statement.

Asia Pacific is expected to account for the greatest number of subscriptions, with around 400 million, followed by North America and Western Europe with more than 200 million each, according to Ericsson.

And by 2015, Ericsson believes subscriptions will top 3.8 billion, more than half of the current global population.

[via Reuters]


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