Orange’s annual Exposure report has revealed some initial findings on 4G usage.

Penetration is now around 7 per cent in the UK, 4 per cent in France and 3 per cent in Spain. Mobile data usage is currently growing most quickly in the UK, standing equal with Spain at 59 per cent, while French mobile data usage is lagging behind at 41 per cent.

The survey of smartphone users in France, Spain and the UK found that 30 per cent of the UKs 4G users regularly download video games, compared with 17 per cent of those on 3G. 53 per cent of 4G users in the UK have used their mobile to pay for something in the last six months, compared with 34 per cent of 3G mobile media users.

The stats also appear to indicate that 4G users react more favourably to different advertising formats, with 4G users in the UK giving sponsored games a score of 4.9 out of 10, compared with 3.8 for ordinary mobile multimedia users.

Orange said they could not share the full data set and it is worth taking into account that 4G users are more likely to be affluent and tech savvy compared to non-3G users. The calibration phase of research was conducted by TNS and consisted of 2000 face-to-face interviews in each country, with the main body done online with 1000 mobile media users.