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British Mobile Phone Users Warm Up to Wireless Internet

4:00 am on October 14, 2007 | Category: Internet, Mobile Devices, Telecom Services, Wireless

Mobile internet use is growing steadily in the UK, with almost 15 million British users accessing the web from their mobile devices each month, according to the Mobile Data Association.

Most analysts credit the slew of recently launched ‘flat rate’ mobile data services for the ongoing surge in wireless internet use. Users are getting comfortable with the idea of surfing the web and checking their email on the go, now that most British carriers offer 1GB or so of bandwidth for just a few pounds a month.

T-Mobile’s subscription-based “web and walk” service, which costs Â£7.50/month, has signed up more than 500,000 customers in the UK, since it debuted 18 months ago.

“Usage is as diverse as the people using it,” said the head of T-Mobile’s wireless internet division, Richard Warmsley, noting that customers have begun using their handsets for many things they would have done on a PC. Social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook, as well as online auction services like eBay, have been especially popular in recent months.

“Half of our customers surf the internet on their mobile when they are at home watching TV,” Warmsley said. “They do not need to go to a laptop and fire it up. The mobile is there for them.”

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