Only five percent (approximately five million) among U.S. broadband users access the mobile internet, although more than 60 percent own an internet-enabled mobile device, according to a new report by market research firm Media-Screen. The report, Netpop | Pocket, cites extra fees and difficulties establishing and maintaining internet connections as the major reasons broadband are reluctant to take part in mobile internet activities.
The report also compares the number of online activities performed via computers and mobile devices. Users perform an average of 3.3 online activities on their mobile device versus 13.4 activities on their laptop/desktop, indicating that online activities have yet to migrate into the pockets of broadband users.
Among broadband users, the most popular mobile activities are related to communications–similar to the early days of the internet. Fewer than one in five users access news or television shows from a mobile device, for example.
The top mobile internet activities of U.S. broadband users are as follows:
1. Sending email 47%
2. Playing games 27%
3. Reading the news 16%
4. Watching TV programs 13%
Netpop | Pocket examines three groups of broadband users:
1. Those accessing the internet from a mobile device (5%)
2. Those who have an internet-enabled mobile device but don’t use it to go online (58%)
3. Those who don’t have an internet-enabled mobile device (36%)
Media-Screen provides strategic market research services focusing on the online consumer in the U.S. and around the world. Netpop is an ongoing study of the maturation of the consumer broadband market in the U.S.
