LONDON, UK: The boom in mobile broadband sales during recent years in UK is over as consumers now realise the technology does not live up to the hype, says Broadband Expert, a broadband comparison website.

As per the website there has been a drop of 57 percent in the number of people signing up for mobile broadband via the site in the last twelve months.

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In May 2010, just 1,300 web users signed up to mobile broadband contracts through the website, compared to 3,000 in May 2009.

The findings are further supported by Experian Hitwise data, which reports a drop of more than 50 percent in the amount of searches undertaken for the phrase ‘mobile broadband’ in the same period.

Rob Webber, commercial director, Broadband Expert, says that UK consumers have been let down by mobile broadband technology; with slow speeds and poor coverage being the main factors.

Webber believes that the impending availability of a super fast LTE (Long Term Evolution) network will give mobile broadband the shot in the arm it needs to win back consumer confidence but is concerned that Britain is lagging behind in this area.

“We’re already seeing companies rolling out LTE networks in the US and Europe,” he says, “but the UK is still 12-18 months away from this. LTE should boost mobile broadband speeds massively, with downloads speeds of over 100mbps achieved in testing; so it could outperform and even replace home broadband in the future."