For operators, the initiative brings more co-ordinated promotional activity, but is the $1billion marketing spend any more or less than would have been spent anyway? If additional spend, then could the money have been better spent? The GSMA could have coordinated subsidies to drive volumes and lowered embedding costs by $100 for 10 million laptops.

There is also a question as to how the GSMA is going to measure the initiative’s effectiveness. If mobile broadband is already growing and operators and vendors are already spending on marketing, how will the GSMA know the initiative has been successful?

Built-in connectivity increasing, but the ‘dongle’ isn’t dead yet
One thing that the announcement does highlight is the growing availability of embedded laptops. To date, laptops have predominately been connected by USB modems (or ‘dongles’).

However, the GSMA’s vision is to eventually build in connectivity into as many laptops as possible.

Nonetheless, migration to embedded laptops will not occur overnight. First and foremost, the replacement cycle of a laptop is longer than that of a mobile phone, slowing uptake. Embedded laptops are also more expensive and less flexible than a USB modem. A modem can be pooled for enterprise use, but a laptop is per person. Also, is the laptop redundant if the service provider changes?

An operator involved in the initiative told us last week that it believed that two thirds of mobile broadband access will still be via modem in two years time. That means over 30 percent for embedded laptops, a major increase compared to today, but they will remain in the minority. They’ll have a nice sticker on, though.