Ofcom’s recent research report gives an insight into the growing use of smartphones and mobile broadband in UK indicating that almost the entire UK population owns and uses a mobile phone.
As per the regulatory body’s annual Consumer Experience Report, more than 92 per cent of the people living in UK own a mobile phone and around 175 billion text messages are sent annually.
The figures indicate that over the last 10 years, the number of people who own a mobile phone has increased by more than 25 per cent. That’s not all, the frequency of mobile phone usage has grown too. The report suggests that there are around 84 million active connections in the country, with people spending more than 125 billion minutes on an average a year on chatting.
The report states that smartphone and mobile broadband popularity is increasing year over year without any doubt. Currently, more than half of the country’s population owns a smartphone as compared to 2011 figures which stood at just 27 per cent.
Also, use of mobile broadband has increased with half of the mobile users using their handsets to access web. Introduction of 4G has further doubled the mobile data usage in the last 12 months.
While the capability and use of mobile phones in UK have increased dramatically, the average monthly amount spent by individuals on mobile services between 2003 and 2012 has declined by 23% in real terms (from £24.99 to £19.13).
As per the report, volume of voice calls over the same period has more than doubled from 54 billion minutes per year to 125 billion. SMS volumes have also increased from 24 billion to 172 billion.
Ofcom’s Chief Executive, Ed Richards, said that “The record in the last decade is good but we are determined to maintain focus on these important areas to ensure that communications markets continue to work in the best interests of consumers.”
