The Mobile Data Association (MDA), a non-profit UK association for vendors and users of mobile data and their advisors, has published its latest quarterly data report on mobile phone usage across the UK. The report covers activity from January – May 2008 for text messaging (SMS), mobile Internet, and picture and video messaging (MMS), and identifies new trends in the way people are using their mobile phones.
General trends
All three measured metrics continue to grow, with 1.4 billion text messages now being sent in the UK every week. SMS has established itself as a true social connecting tool, the MDA says, and continues to have mass consumer appeal. At the same time, there are signs of SMS being applied in commercial applications, which will see the volume continue to rise.
Mobile Internet has seen steady growth in the UK. 16.5 million people accessed the mobile Internet in May 2008. This represents a 25% increase since May 2006, which translates to an average 4,500 new users every day.
Picture and video messaging is showing excellent and sustained growth, the MDA says, with volumes rising steadily, supported by some interesting seasonal peaks. 10 million picture messages are sent every week in the UK and the year-on-year growth rate is running at 30%.
This growth can be attributed to a number of factors, such as the increased number of mobile devices with picture and video messaging capabilities, and the emphasis placed on ease of sharing images via the mobile networks.
Picture and video messaging volumes are gathering real pace, says MDA Chairman, Steve Reynolds. The proliferation of camera-enabled devices has been key, but improved and automated settings around MMS set up have made the process simpler for the end user.
Seasonal highs include December, when new devices are purchased. This resulted in a 52% increase, or an extra 19 million messages, in December 2007 alone. Other seasonal trends which will be monitored this year, following spikes last year, is the use of picture and video messages sent while on holiday. The MDA wonders whether this trend will this spark the demise of the traditional postcard? The MDA will be assessing the figures during July and August this year and will report on them in October. This next report will also cover the rapid growth of mobile data usage driven by dongles, the 3G GPRS devices used to connect laptops to the Internet via the mobile networks.
What does the future look like?
The outlook for mobile data usage remains very positive, the MDA believes. The moves by mobile operators to offer all inclusive tariffs will stimulate further growth and with predicted lower roaming charges, this will also drive usage. The MDA expects to see SMS growth of around 30% in 2008.
New operator pricing, combined with new function-rich, Internet-enabled mobile devices, such as the iPhone and Nokia N95, are key to driving adoption of mobile Internet access. There are powerful signs all around that mobile Internet access will supersede traditional PC access, the MDA believes, citing a recent US study that found that iPhone owners were responsible for 1 in 1,000 web page views last month. The MDA predicts that mobile Internet will become a true rival for traditional desktop Internet access, with growth of around 20% being seen in 2009.
Assessing the findings of the MDAs Q2 report, Rob Bamforth, Principal Analyst at Quocirca, says:
It is well understood and (has) been demonstrated in recent years that the mobile phone has become one of the three most important items people carry along with keys and a wallet or purse when heading outside. For business or personal use, it is no longer simply a mobile equivalent of the fixed phone, but a pocketable tool for remote control and connection across several modes of communication.
The access and sharing of snippets of information while on the move has become part of working and personal lives. It started with voice, then expanded to text which as MDA figures have consistently demonstrated has grown astronomically over time and now most recently has grown into richer messaging media and mobile access to the Internet. While these are still in their early stages, with some aspects of the technology still evolving, adoption looks set to follow similar paths to other communication and media formats.
Key findings
Text Messaging – Number of person to person text messages sent in the UK:
Per month: 6,467,070,000
Per week: 1,492,400,769
Per day: 212,616,000
25% Growth Quarter on Quarter (Q4 2007- Q2 2008)
30% Growth Year on Year (May 2007 to May 2008) 
Picture and Video messaging (MMS) – Number of person to person MMS messages sent in the UK:
Per month: 46,516,405 (During May 2008)
Per week: 10,734,555
Per day: 1,529,306
MMS has seen a 30% year on year growth
Mobile Internet – Number of unique visitors accessing the Internet from their mobile phone:
May 2006: 13,140,000.00
May 2008: 16,425,000.00
Mobile Internet usage has grown 25% in the past two years.
