5.7 Million Use Mobile Internet In January In UK

At 19% of the PC-based internet audience, the UK mobile web market is slightly more developed on a relative basis than the US mobile web market, where 30 million (or 17%) of the 176 million US PC web users accessed the web from a mobile device during the same month.

The research, MobileWeb Metrix, reveals that UK mobile web users under 35 years of age account for 67% of the entire mobile web audience in the UK, whereas the same age segment accounts for 39% of the PC-based internet audience.

Research findings in the US show that those under 35 account for 46 percent of the mobile web audience and 36.5% of the PC-based internet audience.

The study also reveals that 63% of mobile web users in the UK are male, compared to 54% of PC internet users. In the US, 60% of mobile web users are male versus 49% of PC internet users.

Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe, said: “Similar to the Internet 10-15 years ago, men under the age of 35 are the early adopters of new technology and more likely to use mobile devices to access the mobile web than women or men aged over 35.”

Demographic Breakdown of Internet Users – UK & US Audiences
Unique Visitors, Age 15+, January 2007
	UK			US
	% Mobile Web Users	% PC Internet Users	Mobile to PC User Index	% Mobile Web Users	% PC Internet Users	Mobile to PC User Index
Persons Age: 15-24	25.4	20	127	22.2	20.5	108
Persons Age: 25-34	41.4	19.3	215	24.2	16	151
Persons Age: 35-44	18.9	23.8	80	24.4	20.2	120
Persons Age: 45-54	10.7	19.9	54	16.8	18	93
Persons Age: 55-64	2.7	11.2	24	9.7	10.6	92
Persons Age: 65+	0.8	5.8	14	2.6	5.2	49
Source: comScore/ Telephia MobileWeb Metrix
*Mobile to PC User Index is defined as the percentage of mobile web users in each age bracket divided by the percentage of PC-based internet users in the same age bracket. Differences in reach % may not be statistically significant.

“The Mobile Web is at an early state of development, but we expect Mobile Web usage to grow as phone performance improves, sites optimise their content for the small screen and operators fine tune their tariffs, enabling consumers to take full advantage of mobile phone capabilities, content and convenience,” Ivins continued.

ComScore and Telephia also revealed the leading sites on the mobile web in both the UK and the US, ranked by unique visitors. Popular PC Internet sites Yahoo!, MSN and Google all featured in the ranking of leading sites on both sides of the Atlantic. BBC and SKY were the leading sites for UK Mobile Web users in January, attracting 2.3 million and 1.2 million unique visitors, respectively.

Leading Mobile Web Sites – UK Audience
Unique Visitors, Age 15+, January 2007
	Total Mobile Unique Visitors (000)	% Mobile Reach	PC Unique Visitors (000)	% PC Reach	Mobile to PC Reach Index**
Total Internet	5,708	100	30,072	100	100
BBC	2,333	40.9	17,554	58.4	70
MSN-Windows Live	1,758	30.8	24,072	80	38
Yahoo!	1,513	26.5	19,660	65.4	41
Google	1,434	25.1	25,804	85.8	29
SKY	1,197	21	6,951	23.1	91
Source: comScore/ Telephia MobileWeb Metrix
*Does not include operator landing sites such as O2 Active
**Mobile to PC Reach Index for a brand is defined as the brand’s reach among Mobile Web users divided by its reach among PC-based internet users. Differences in reach % may not be statistically significant.

Leading Mobile Web Sites – US Audience
Unique Visitors, Age 15+, January 2007
	Total Mobile Unique Visitors (000)	% Mobile Reach	PC Unique Visitors (000)	% PC Reach	Mobile to PC Reach Index**
Total Internet	29,676	100	175,559	100	100
Yahoo!	15,861	53.4	127,460	72.6	74
MSN-Windows Live	8,961	30.2	97,449	55.5	54
Google	8,817	29.7	107,105	61	49
The Weather Channel	6,594	22.2	35,433	20.2	110
AOL	6,081	20.5	88,738	50.5	41
Source: comScore/Telephia MobileWeb Metrix
*Does not include operator landing sites
**Mobile to PC Reach Index for a brand is defined as the brand’s reach among mobile Web users divided by its reach among PC-based internet users. Differences in reach % may not be statistically significant.

The Weather Channel and AOL represented additional leading sites among US mobile web users in January, with 6.6 million and 6 million unique visitors, respectively. The Weather Channel in the US has a greater reach via the mobile web than it does via PC-based internet, highlighting how the success of sites that provide content for people on the move by optimising their content for the small screen.

“The advantage that weather, sports and news sites have over other mobile web sites is that they provide up-to-date information that consumers need quickly, anytime and anywhere,” said Kanishka Agarwal, vice president mobile media at Telephia. “As a result, they are being forced to become user-friendly during the early stages of the mobile web, or face the risk that competitors could steal a march on them.”

A recent report from Media Screen said that 5% of US broadband users (approximately five million people) use the mobile internet (see 5% Of US Broadband Users Use Mobile Internet).

In other research, this time from the Online Publishers Association (OPA), it was revealed that the mobile internet is experiencing strong growth as a marketing platform, with consumers watching and acting upon advertisements (see Mobile Internet Becoming Compelling Marketing Platform).