Mobile internet usage to triple

Better 3G coverage, the arrival of 3.5G phones and flat-rate data tariffs are set to triple the number of Europeans browsing the Internet from their mobile phones, according to Forrester Research.

The company's European Mobile Forecast: 2008 to 2013 predicts that 38 per cent of Europeans will be "mobile browsers" within five years. A full 80 per cent of Europeans will be using 3G or better devices by the end of 2013, as the cost of higher-speed handsets falls and network coverage improves.

Phones using 3.5G or HSPA (high-speed packet access) networks, such as the much-anticipated 3G iPhone, will account for a quarter of all handsets by 2013. Today most 3.5G devices are laptop data cards or USB modems.

Slower, 3G phones will account for 57 per cent of the market by the end of 2011. Forrester also expects the number of mobile operators offering fixed rate data plans to continue to grow, although more than half of the leading European mobile operator already do so.

According to Pete Nuthall, the report's author, changes in the way Europeans use the internet - with more surfing via a mobile device - will affect both the way companies both equip their staff, and design their websites and internet-based services.

"The mobile net is reaching a tipping point and it is on the verge of entering the mass market," said Nuthall. "It is not just restricted to 3G phones, but 3.5G or HSDPA devices that are narrowing the gap between fixed and mobile access."

Flat-rate tariffs, he said, reduced the risk of "bill shock" for consumers. Better devices and networks will enable companies to run mobile applications, as well as allow browsing from employees' devices. Business applications would need to be designed, or redesigned, to make them "timely and relevant" for mobile use.

Businesses will also need to take mobile browsing into account when it comes to designing websites, customer-facing applications or Web 2.0 technologies, advises Forrester. "M-commerce is still in its infancy, but there are things people can do even if it very basic, such as to track orders or deliveries," said Nuthall. But he cautioned that businesses would need to pay more attention to the way their websites worked in a mobile browser. "Right now, the user experience is not up to scratch."

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