Us Europeans are using our our mobile phones to access the internet than ever before, according to a news article by the BBC. A survey by the GSM Association (GSMA) found that users accessing the mobile web increased by 75% from April 2007 to April 2008.
The article states, “Over the same period the numbers of 3G users doubled and the average price of data roaming services fell by 25%. The GSMA said there were now 112 million users of third generation (3G) mobile services in Europe – about 22.5% of all mobile users. By comparison 18.4% of US and Canadian mobile users are on 3G networks.”
As I’ve mentioned before, I continue to see ephinany moments as my Facebook friends discover they can update their Facebook statuses from their mobile phones. Sky-high data charges on users’ bills is beginning to become less of a worry as consumers become more educated and, of course, as carriers lower their charges.
This is obviously great news to the UK carriers who paid over £22 billion ($43 billion USD) in a bidding war for the 3G license. And is also a sign that PR and marketers should be experimenting and looking for new ways to harness this increasing trend. The newspaper industry seems to be capitalising by using mobile news sites as delivery mechanisms and new applications like Instapaper (very simple, yet very effective; a God send) are introduced.
Stephen is a communications consultant based out of the UK. You can connect with him on Twitter or check out his LinkedIn profile. | Email Stephen
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David Brain
i see the new Vodafone posters are all about using your mobile to access Facebook so they are on to it it would appear.