Vodafone's competitive weakness in fixed broadband has been exposed by rivals starting to bundle fixed and mobile products in some countries.
Mobile internet data subscribers number in the 1.2 billion in developing nations, far outstripping the 357m fixed broadband connections in those same countries, meaning that mobile data outnumbers fixed broadband by over 3 1 in the developing world.
"It's very likely the fixed broadband business will only attract those customers that need the bandwidth.
"Whether it will replace fixed broadband at home, I wouldn't go that far".
Mobile data subscribers number in the 1.2 billion in developing nations, but fixed broadband connections only come in at around 357m in those same countries, meaning that mobile data outnumbers fixed broadband by over 3 1 in the developing world.
"We think 4G can become an affordable alternative to fixed broadband in rural areas," said EE's chief executive, Olaf Swantee.
Increased adoption of high-powered mobile phones also means that more young people are abandoning their fixed broadband line.
It also achieved the lowest score for fixed broadband provider when compared with Virgin, Sky and Talk Talk.
Softbank, which already offers television, voice calling and internet access over fixed broadband links under the Yahoo!
Internet usage is strong and the UK ranks 9th for the number of internet users and 7th for the number of fixed broadband users.
But the proportion of people online is still far behind the global average – 17.4% of individuals have access to mobile broadband, while fixed broadband connections remain very low.
