- Almost half of all mobile users shun internet on their mobiles
- Seven out of 10 have no idea how much it costs
- A quarter think it's too slow or in-operable
87 per cent of the population now have access to 3G networks** and almost three-quarters of mobile users (72 per cent) have internet capabilities on their mobile, yet less than a quarter (24 per cent) of those actually use it.
Costs and functionality are the main obstacles for users. Seven in 10 people (70 per cent) have no idea how much they would be charged to use the internet on their mobile and one in four (24 per cent) say the service is too slow to use. One in eight (13 per cent) of those with internet capability on their mobile say the service is pointless.
James Parker, manager of mobiles and broadband at price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, said: "Mobile technology has come a long way in the past few years - with the advent of 3G networks the mobile is no longer just for making calls. However, it seems people are either unsure on costs or are put off by the speed of it. It's a shame, because with the right package and handset people can really take advantage of this great offering."
Although the study highlights some apprehension towards mobile internet, there are over 11 million adults (24 per cent) who have embraced it.*** The survey shows on average, men spend 16 minutes a week surfing the web on their phone, compared to 11 minutes for women (average for all adults is 13.7 minutes).
Email (35 per cent) and news (28 per cent) are the most common things looked up on mobile handsets, with sport (24 per cent) being third most popular. However, people are starting to branch out with one in five (22 per cent) looking for maps, one in six (16 per cent) accessing social network sites and one in 30 (3 per cent) surfing for adult content.
Parker continues: "The range of information, websites and services offered on the internet through your mobile is incredible. We're starting to see more and more providers offer special access to social network sites and I'd expect technology to evolve until mobiles offer the same web capabilities as a home computer. The handsets are out there, people just need to be made aware it's not as expensive as they might think.
"All the major networks offer internet packages giving customers the chance to save money and access the net. O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone all offer unlimited internet access for a flat monthly fee from £5 per month. Instead of paying each time they access the internet, users can go online without restrictions, for people who want internet on the go these add-ons can be great value."
|
Internet on your Mobile |
|
|
|
|
Provider |
Monthly Cost* |
|
O2 |
£7.50 |
|
Orange |
30Mb for £7.83 |
|
T-Mobile |
£5.00 |
|
Vodafone |
£7.50 |
|
3 |
£5.00 for 1GB |
|
Virgin |
£2 per Mb
30p per day effective 8th December |
|
*Free with certain price plans |
|
|
Sourced by www.moneysupermarket.com 03.12.2008 |
-END-
Notes to editors
*Opinium Research carried out an online poll of 2,179 British adults between 17th and 21st October
** 2008 Ofcom International Communications Market Report 2008
*** Of the 47,788,000 adults (Population projections by the Government Actuary), 24 per cent use their phone to access the internet
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