Nearly half of Britons who access the worldwide web are doing so via their mobile phone, according to new research by the Office for National Statistics.
A survey by the ONS found that in the first three months of 2011, around 45 per cent of web users (a total of 17.6 million people) used their mobile to get online, up from 31 per cent in 2010.
The biggest growth was among young people, with more than 70 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24 years old accessing the web via a mobile handset, compared to 44 per cent the previous year.
Unsurprisingly, those aged 65 and over were least likely to use mobile internet services, at just 8 per cent.
Ernest Doku, technology expert at comparison site uSwitch, said: “Younger Britons see the internet as a necessity, not a luxury. Many are now using smartphones as their primary way of accessing the net, rather than home computers, and are becoming used to the idea of having the world in their pocket.”
Stephen Rayment, CTO at BelAir Networks, said the ONS research highlights Brits unquenchable appetite for mobile data, but added that such huge demand could cause more problems 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?,” he said.
“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.”
