Orange has unveiled its fourth Digital Media Index, which offers an insight into customer consumption of digital media. The findings reveal a marked increase in mobile data usage, which has almost doubled in the last quarter. Orange says the increase follows improvements to devices designed to access mobile data, from USB dongles to more advanced mobile handsets. At the same time, says Orange, the evolution of social networking to the mobile platform, combined with more effective promotion of on-portal content and services, means consumers are now accessing the content they want, quicker and easier than ever before.
Key findings from the summer/autumn report include:

Dongle subscriptions surge – an increase of 2,139% since January 2007

3G customers soar by 86% – with 1.3 million customers added.

Mobile search increases by 30%, while local search increases by 100%

Social networking takes off – with over 166 million page impressions on average per month

Music downloads increase by 10% – with September seeing a record 300,000 full tracks downloaded

This latest report reflects a transition in mobile similar to what is taking place on the web, says
Orange Director of Products, Portals and Services, Paul Jevons. Mobile is no longer simply a channel for brands to deliver packaged content in a manner of their choosing. Instead the mobile phone has become a truly interactive channel that fosters the formation of communities through social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo. It also delivers content that is personally tailored to the individual so customers can access the services they want how and when they want them.