Mobile net use on the rise

New handsets offer more compelling net services

Using mobile phones to connect to the internet is proving more and more popular with consumers, according to a report.

People in the UK are looking at 11.5 million internet pages each day said the Mobile Data Association in its second monthly report.

The monthly total for October is 356 million page impressions, compared to 340 in September.

The figures are compiled from the four UK mobile operators - 02, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Perception changing

Mobile facts

25 million WAP handsets in the UK

50 million text messages sent in UK every day

Mobile net accounts for 11.5 page views daily

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is the software that allows web content to be viewed via a mobile screen.

When WAP phones were launched, there was concern that their capabilities had been over-hyped.

Users also found the connections slow and the services unappealing.

But gradually that is beginning to change.

"Use of mobile internet has been growing rapidly this year and we expect it to grow even further next year," said Chairman of the Mobile Data Association Mike Short.

He puts this down to a rise in the number of WAP handsets available, more compelling content and a desire to investigate new types of content.

Net messaging

"The text generations are prepared to try other things with their mobile phones," said Mr Short.

There are around 25 million WAP-enabled handsets in the UK, which accounts for around half of all mobile phones.

Operators are launching new handsets with more net services. Technologies such as GPRS mean that connections are getting faster.

Messaging via the internet, either by sending text messages to a buddy list on the net or sending messages direct to e-mail accounts is proving one of the most popular uses of mobile net services.

Downloading sports scores, entertainment information and news are also popular.

WAP still has a long way to go to reach the heady heights of text messaging. According to the Mobile Data Association 50 million text messages are sent every day.