Manufacturers of 3G modems did well in 2008 despite the overall economic slowdown, research firm In-Stat said today.

Approximately 20 million units were sold, analyst Daryl Schoolar wrote.

The latest trend is USB modems from major companies like Ericsson and Qualcomm.  “Embedded shipments will overtake external modem shipments by the end of 2011. The result is increasing price erosion for external clients, especially in Western Europe, where Huawei has become a strong player,” In-Stat said.

“Operators continue to move forward with their mobile data subscription initiatives even as the economy suffers. This has put cellular modem manufacturers in a really nice place to be,” he added.

In-Stat also found that most business users have their mobile broadband service paid for by employers.