Almost half of online users access internet through mobile phone, says survey
Almost half of internet users have been found to access the internet through their mobile phones, a survey has claimed.
According to data released ONS following a survey, 45% of online users access the internet through their phones, with 71% of 16-24 year olds browsing online through their mobile, an increase of 44% on last year.
The survey also found that over 65 year olds, which account of 8% of online usage, were least likely to access the internet through their mobile phone and that 38% of all adults used another mobile device, such as a laptop or tablet, to access the internet.
Other findings included 57% per cent of adult online users using social network sites this year, a growth of 43%, with 91% of 16-24 year olds using social network sites, while 77% of households now access the internet, an increase of 4% from 2011.
In reaction to the findings, Stephen Rayment, CTO at BelAir Networks, commented: “With mobile Internet users hitting 50%, the report confirms that people clearly have an insatiable appetite for mobile data and suggests this demand is set to wreak even more havoc across 3G networks, particularly in city areas. Mobile operators are upgrading their networks through the forthcoming 4G auction to help address this but Ofcom has acknowledged it will not be enough. So, how will mobile operators meet this exponential demand for mobile Internet use? Ask most smartphone and tablet users what they do when the mobile networks are performing badly and most will tell you that they instead turn to Wi-Fi. Mobile operators looking at this report should look to bring carrier-grade Wi-Fi into their networks or they risk providing a bad user experience.”