More than 10m consumers log onto public wi-fi in the UKs high streets each week, according to figures from wi-fi provider The Cloud.
Meanwhile, 2.8m log onto a Cloud wi-fi hotspot every day – thats roughly equivalent to one in every 10 smartphone users in the country.
That figure is higher among 25-34 year-olds – with 33 per cent using wi-fi every week, compared to 19 per cent of 45-54 year-olds – and in London – where 47 per cent of the population use public wi-fi.
Other regions arent far behind, however, with 42 per cent of the population in the North East and 40 per cent in the South West using public wi-fi, but usage is notably different in each region. London users tend to be snackers – quickly logging on to check their emails, for example – while users in Nottingham, Cardiff and Sheffield spend at least 50 per cent longer online in a typical session. Users in Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham and Reading download 50 per cent more data per session than Londoners on average, and the average data usage is almost double in Brighton.
Across the country, 35 per cent of users log on for more than 15 minutes on average, and eight per cent for more than half an hour. Overall, users spent more than 2bn minutes spent online using public wi-fi in the first 10 weeks of 2013, with a total 800m MB of information downloaded. 
“As smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices become ubiquitous, we’re increasingly looking to take our in-home internet experience out and about with us. With 3G connections frequently throttled and 4G not yet a mass-market proposition, this means many of us are turning to high-speed WiFi,” said Vince Russell, managing director of The Cloud.
“As a result, we’re seeing shops, cafes, pubs, gyms and other places where people live their lives looking to meet this demand by offering free WiFi to their customers. Some 7m people pass through The Cloud’s venues every day, with hotspots ranging from Wick in the Highlands to Penzance in Cornwall.”
Join us at the Mobile Retail Summit, London, 24 April.
