Swedish equipment manufacturer Ericsson announced today that it has struck a deal with Dell to embed its mobile broadband modules in the computer manufacturer’s laptops beginning this quarter. The modules are HSPA-enabled, which offers a current top speed of 7.2 Mb/s, and will include a GPS receiver. The deal is Ericsson’s second such agreement this year following an announcement in February that it is to embed modules for Chinese laptop manufacturer Lenovo. Ericsson hinted that further deals with other computer manufacturers are in the pipeline. Financial terms of the Ericsson-Dell deal were not disclosed. Most users currently use an external USB ‘dongle’ to connect a laptop to a mobile network. However, Ericsson says that approximately 200 million notebooks will ship annually by 2011 and that around 50 percent of these will feature built-in HSPA mobile broadband. Separate research published by the GSM Association and Microsoft last year estimated a potential market worth US$50 billion in 2008. Dell’s commitment to embedded HSPA laptops was also recognized at this year’s GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where its ‘Inspiron 1525′ device was judged the ‘Best Commercially Available Mobile Broadband Notebook.’

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