MDA: Mobile Internet Users Grow

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. -- The number of mobile phone users accessing the internet on their handsets is rising. According to figures announced today by the Mobile Data Association (MDA), a total of 40.7 million users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile internet in the UK during the third quarter of 2006. The total number of users recorded in July was 13 million, which had increased to 14 million by September.

According to research from Nielsen/NetRatings, a WAP-enabled mobile phone is the second most popular digital device owned by Britons, after the PC, with 57% of the survey owning a phone that could access the internet. (source: BBC.co.uk)

Increasingly tech-savvy, mobile users expect their phones to give them more features, flexibility and the handiness of the desktop on the move. Key features such as mobile e-mail and mobile web are becoming more popular as they become easier to use, with improved download speeds and connectivity. And it’s not just ringtones and games downloads that the mobile internet is being accessed for, historically a major driver of WAP usage –as the MDA recently reported, Google topped the list of sites most accessed via mobiles, followed closely by chat sites.

The Mobile Data Association (MDA)