NEW YORK-The number of wireless Internet users last year grew 29 percent, according to a study from market research firm Ipsos.
“The Face of the Web” study is based on interviews in 12 global markets with more than 6,500 adult respondents. According to the report, an estimated 171 million people, or about 44 percent of Internet users, have accessed the Internet via a wireless device.
Japan was a leader in growth among adults who use the Internet via a wireless connection, said the report. Wireless Internet also gained some popularity in Western Europe, South Korea and urban China, said the report.
The report found, in general, more adults connect to the Internet with a mobile device rather than using a laptop to connect to the Internet wirelessly. Other findings include 21-percent growth in e-mail usage on mobile phones and more than 40-percent growth in video and picture exchanging and Internet browsing on mobile devices. Mobile-commerce applications also showed growth, with wireless online purchasers doubling and wireless online bankers increasing by 60 percent.
“These developments are indicative of an early adoption of multimedia and transaction-based activity through a mobile device,” said Brian Cruikshank, senior vice president of Ipsos-Insight and co-author of the study. “As smart-card technology handsets are introduced in many markets, transaction-based activity will be yet another frontier driving data connectivity and ARPU in the next three-to-five years.”
