Broadband News
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Mobile broadband cost and poor experience putting off mass market
22 Jan 2010 | 14.20 Europe/London
Research published this week suggests that mobile internet browsing is being shunned by three in four mobile users because of concerns over cost and poor service.
Analysts at Essential Research claim that despite hype surrounding the success of the iPhone, and other top of the range smartphones, the mass market is far from feeling comfortable with the mobile experience on a small screen.
In fact, even among those users who have the latest smartphone models, which they know can access the net, nearly a third have never used the facility and a quarter (24%) use the facility less than once per week.
Cost concerns
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the biggest single factor holding back the market is cost, or more accurately, perceived cost. Three in four of those surveyed claimed they were not aware of how much browsing the web on the move would cost and feared it would result in ‘bill shock’ at the end of the month or soon expire their pre-pay credit.
Among those who have tried, more than half (57%) claim to have been scuppered by handset and software problem and a quarter said they struggled with understanding how to access the web on their phone and then how to navigate pages.
Interestingly, among those who infrequently use their mobile phone’s web browsing facility, more than half cited poor speed for shunning their handheld device and a quarter mentioned their disappointment at not be able to browse sites they enjoyed on a PC as easily on a mobile.
Despite this, the researchers discovered that owners would want to interact with sites and brands on the mobile internet, if only it was a better experience and the browsing costs were better understood.
Don’t believe the hype
Fundamentally, though, the researchers believe this is a proverbial wake up call to the mobile internet industry to realise that the technology is not being adopted by the masses, as Alex Charlton, Partner at Essential Research, explains.
“This type of research doesn’t often see the light of day, and what we’ve found is pretty surprising news,” he says.
“There is an enormous gulf between the perceptions we hold about mobiles being a big part of our Internet lives and the reality. In fact only a small percentage of us are truly internet mobile users and the industry has a big job to do to move mobile internet into our everyday lives.”
Analysts at Essential Research claim that despite hype surrounding the success of the iPhone, and other top of the range smartphones, the mass market is far from feeling comfortable with the mobile experience on a small screen.
In fact, even among those users who have the latest smartphone models, which they know can access the net, nearly a third have never used the facility and a quarter (24%) use the facility less than once per week.
Cost concerns
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the biggest single factor holding back the market is cost, or more accurately, perceived cost. Three in four of those surveyed claimed they were not aware of how much browsing the web on the move would cost and feared it would result in ‘bill shock’ at the end of the month or soon expire their pre-pay credit.
Among those who have tried, more than half (57%) claim to have been scuppered by handset and software problem and a quarter said they struggled with understanding how to access the web on their phone and then how to navigate pages.
Interestingly, among those who infrequently use their mobile phone’s web browsing facility, more than half cited poor speed for shunning their handheld device and a quarter mentioned their disappointment at not be able to browse sites they enjoyed on a PC as easily on a mobile.
Despite this, the researchers discovered that owners would want to interact with sites and brands on the mobile internet, if only it was a better experience and the browsing costs were better understood.
Don’t believe the hype
Fundamentally, though, the researchers believe this is a proverbial wake up call to the mobile internet industry to realise that the technology is not being adopted by the masses, as Alex Charlton, Partner at Essential Research, explains.
“This type of research doesn’t often see the light of day, and what we’ve found is pretty surprising news,” he says.
“There is an enormous gulf between the perceptions we hold about mobiles being a big part of our Internet lives and the reality. In fact only a small percentage of us are truly internet mobile users and the industry has a big job to do to move mobile internet into our everyday lives.”
have to agree that cost is the major factor in determining how much I use my mobile broadband device. 3GB of data @ £15 lasts me around 21 days, but if I stream media , it evaporates in the blink of an eye. I use a laptop & broadband dongle, but the same thing applies to those on an iphone or blackberry contract, if you do a lot of youtube, bbc iplayer streaming etc, expect big bills.
23 Jan 2010 | 07.53 Europe/London