Mobile broadband uptake soars

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 14 Aug 2008 at 08:48

Mobile broadband services are beginning to challenge fixed line providers, according to a new report by Ofcom.

The communications study by the watchdog reveals that between February and June this year, monthly sales of 3G dongles nearly doubled from 69,000 to 133,000.

According to the Ofcom figures, two million people now use mobile broadband in the UK and not just for working on the move. Around 75% of those two million say they use it at home also, which could set alarm bells ringing for fixed-line providers.

Ofcom puts the rise down to the recent marketing push by the mobile broadband vendors, which have introduced attractive data deals at vastly reduced prices.

Internet usage through mobile phones was also on the rise, with around one in ten mobile phone users saying they now regularly access the internet, with 3G connections growing by 60% to reach 12.5 million subscribers - an increase of 4.7 million in 12 months.

Overall, the report claims that while the amount of time we spend using the internet and mobile phones has risen, our actual spending has fallen over the last three years, with homes now spending £93.63 a month in 2007, a fall of £4.31 since 2004.

Fierce competition

Unsurprisingly, Ofcom claims this is down to a more competitive broadband market and the introduction of bundled triple play services, which offer broadband, phone and television services as a package for a flat fee. However, customers are also increasingly willing to switch providers and take up better deals.

2007 was also a good year for video on demand services such as BBC's iPlayer. According to the report, the proportion of people watching television programmes online more than doubled from 8% to 17% in twelve months.

The iPlayer alone delivered more than 700,000 daily video streams in May 2008.

To find out how all the major mobile broadband vendors compare, read our mobile broadband feature here.