The Growth in Mobile Internet
Recent research has shown that mobile internet usage is growing more rapidly than first thought, and some eight times quicker than the growth of internet access via PCs. In the second and third quarters of last year some 7.3m people accessed the internet via their mobile phones, this is an increase of 25% compared to a growth of just 3% for the PC-based audience (which currently stands at around 35m).
Mobile
internet providers have been keen to capitalise
on the possibility of mobile internet access and
have offered a number of different rental tariffs
and options to people. There has also been a rise
in particular types of handsets which have the
principal purpose of accessing the internet
rather than the traditional phone usages.
The research found that BBC News is the most
visited site for customers who use mobile
internet, with nearly a quarter of all mobile
internet consumers using it. Google remains the
giant of desktop internet usage, but has recently
taken steps to enter the mobile internet market
with the launch of the HTC Magic, one of
Vodafone’s exclusive mobile phones, developed by
Google.
Experts have suggested that BBC News is the most
popular website for mobile internet users because
it reflects the role that mobile internet plays
for customers. People need fast, instant access
to weather or breaking news, rather than the
traditional entertainment based usage of PCs.
Unsurprisingly the mobile net audience is younger
than PC based viewers, with a quarter of all
mobile net users being between the ages of 15-24,
this is compared to 16% of PC users in the same
demographic. On the other hand, only 12% of the
mobile internet audience is over 55, compared to
23% of desk-top users.
The importance of mobile internet to mobile phone
providers reflects a shift from the traditional
usage of mobile phones towards a more holistic
approach. Whilst these figures show those who use
their phone to access the internet, there is also
a growing number of mobile phone providers
offering internet access cards for laptops and
other portable devices that allow people to
access the internet on the scale of a laptop or a
PC with the freedom of movement afforded by
mobile internet.
Whilst the market is still developing rapidly
with better network coverage, quicker access
speeds, and the seemingly non-stop development of
new handsets, it looks like mobile internet and
mobile internet access is here to stay.
Take a look at Vodafone’s online shop for more
information on the latest
mobile phone
deals.