WAP Usage Figures Peak At Half A Billion During March

Mobile internet services attracted 560 million page impressions during March, according to the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association (MDA) and the UK’s four GSM network operators.

The figure represents an increase of 16% on February’s total and marks the first time that the monthly number of page impressions has surpassed the half a billion mark (see UK WAP Usage Figures Show Steady Growth In February).

March’s figure, which reflects the growing popularity of the medium, takes the daily average number of page impressions for the month to 18 million, compared with 11 million in September 2002, when the issuing of WAP page impressions by the MDA began.

According to the MDA, March’s figure reflects the increased interest in seasonal and novelty WAP based services, such as Mother’s Day greetings and football services. Popular sites continue to be those offering ring-tones screensavers, downloads and games. Sites offering horoscopes, live sport results and Time Out information also experienced an increase in impressions.

The MDA expects to see continued growth in WAP page impressions over the coming year and predicts there will be a total of over 8 billion for 2003.

A recent study from Continental Research suggests that around 20% of mobile phone users will soon have MMS-enabled handsets, providing advertisers with a potential market of 6.1 million consumers capable of receiving multimedia marketing messages (see Multi-Media Messaging Shows Potential For Advertisers).

Mobile Data Association: 01922 419600 www.mda-mobiledata.org

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