The prediction by mobileSQUARED about the direction of internet connections for small businesses in IT and other organisations has been questioned by a leading web expert.

Chris Marling, the editor of broadband comparison website Broadband Genie, responded to the figures by questioning how many of the 30 million handsets will be used in the online environment in a meaningful way.

He continued: "Fixed-line is still setting the agenda for broadband speed, and innovators are making products to match: 3D and 360-degree TV are going to need fast, stable speeds to make them work, and other bandwidth hungry uses will follow."

Mr Marling added that as a result, it is hard to see mobile broadband keeping pace, though he is sure that it will continue to grow largely due to emails, general internet use and social networking.

Last week, mobileSQUARED predicted that by 2011, the number of 3G devices in the UK will be 36.3 million, as well as 6.4 million dongles or embedded devices, totalling mobile broadband connections at 42.7 million, compared to 42.5 million fixed lines.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.