The number of WAP pages being viewed by mobile phone users is still on the increase with August’s figure climbing by 22.7% compared with the same period in 2003, according to the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association.
Allowing for seasonal differences, the August figure takes the MDA’s cumulative recorded WAP page impressions to over 10 billion for the year to date, with the group forecasting a total of 13 billion for the whole of 2004.
The increased use of data services is attributed to the Olympics, as several mobile networks teamed up with broadcasters to offer free streamed video footage of the events. Alternatively, the MDA states that subscribers were able to receive sports MMS alerts, bringing pictures, text and audio to mobiles every day.
According to the MDA’s results, maximum interaction was achieved through Olympic polls with voting on various topical talking points during the tournament. The result of the successful mobile coverage is expected to be increased use of multimedia features by service providers, actively increasing the amount of WAP usage by their subscribers.
The Olympics also boosted sports fans’ usage of interactive TV technology, with the BBC reporting a massive surge in popularity of its red button content. The Corporation’s figures show that nearly nine million digital satellite viewers pressed the red button on their remote controls during the event, accessing interactive services to achieve the highest reaching iTV coverage since Wimbledon 2004 .
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