The CEO of Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson AB forecasts a boom in the mobile broadband market, expecting the number of users worldwide to grow to 3.5 billion in 2015 from today's 400 million.

Hans Vestberg says smartphones and other new mobile devices are driving the growth and that operators have begun adapting tariffs and prices to better meet customer needs.

Vestberg says Ericsson is exploring new markets beyond the traditional telecom sector, "such as cable and TV-companies, governments, healthcare, transport and utilities."

He was speaking Wednesday at Ericsson's Capital Markets Day in Stockholm.