The global number of mobile broadband devices will rise to exceed half a billion units over the next five years, according to new research from Strategy Analytics.

By 2016, the installed customer base is expected to reach more than 525 million products, with external modems tipped to enjoy steady growth over the forecast period.

Increasingly flexible tariffs, reduced device costs, a surge in the number of mobile hotspots and the shift to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband technology were all cited by the market intelligence firm as drivers of this expansion.

However, it is believed embedded modems will see slower growth due to the need for additional data services and the higher cost of installing cellular capabilities.

Andrew Brown, director of wireless enterprise strategies at Strategy Analytics and author of the report, said the company "anticipates continued growth in mobile broadband devices as operators improve user segmentation, such as flexible plans and content bundling all underpinned by LTE".

He described mobile hotspots as a "highlight" in the mobile broadband sector thanks to their ability to connect up to five devices to the internet at once via a single data plan.

"The growth in the number and variety of Wi-Fi enabled devices has considerably increased the value proposition of these mobile hotspot devices," he added.

Illustrating the rising prevalence of mobile hotspots, network operator 3 Mobile recently unveiled its Mobile Broadband Wi-Fi hub, which converts existing dongles into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Officially known as the ZTE MF10 Dongle Adapter, the hub allows people to share their 3G service via Wi-Fi and also features an Ethernet socket that means it can be used as a router for a traditional fixed-line broadband connection.

Several dongles, including the Huawei E122, E1550 and E156G, will be compatible with the gadget, which is set to hit the market in the near future.

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