Wireless PC card modem market to grow 10 times by 2010

Recent dramatic increases in the data transfer speeds that can be achieved by wireless PC card modems will produce a market explosion over the next five years, according to ABI Research. The advent of 3G wireless platforms offering speeds almost comparable to wired DSL connections means a vastly greater incentive for consumers to buy and use such cards.

CPCs are considerably more expensive than cellular handsets, but prices will be coming down within two years. With falling prices and the higher speeds available from UMTS and EV-DO networks ABI expects to see a huge and sudden increase in demand for CPC devices. Shipments in Europe and the US will begin to grow dramatically, though Asian growth will be more modest. By 2010, the size of the CPC market will reach approximately ten times its 2003 levels.