Mobile broadband users are all set to multiply in the near future. Technology research specialist Coda Research Consultancy has revealed that in the next eight years the number of mobile broadband users will explode and reach 418 million. By that time, data consumption is expected to reach 1.8 exabytes, a number that is 40 times more than the average monthly usage this current year.

Europe, with an estimated growth of about 135%, is likely to be the slowest growing mobile broadband market, while Asia-Pacific is slated to see the highest rate of broadband growth. As far as the numbers go, by 2017, Europe would have close to 94 million users with the States coming a distant second with an expected 58 million users. The combined figure for the Middle East and Africa is likely to stand at 48 million users.

LTE, which is the next level of technology in mobile broadband, is also expected to make a big impact in the market once it goes under production for general use. That is likely to happen by 2012.

The report, however, has warned broadband service providers about low profitability in a scenario when usage touches epic proportions. Steve Smith, founder of Coda Research, expressed the same fear when he said that more users in future may create a huge opportunity of growth for both operators and hardware vendors to make it big in the market, but increased data usage and lower revenue per user, however, will pose a challenge to these businesses in maintaining their profitability. He stressed the need for operators to be fully efficient in providing services for reaping profits in the future.