Brits prefer mobile broadband to WiFi

According to a recent report Brits are opting for mobile broadband over using WiFi hotspots when accessing the Internet whilst on to go.

Until recently accessing the Internet whilst out and about meant having to gain access to WiFi hotspots. This enabled users to enjoy a certain degree of freedom and mobility when it came to accessing the Internet outside of the home or office. However, more recently mobile broadband has exploded onto the scene, and this has given consumers true freedom, flexibility, and mobility when it comes to getting online.

In fact, according to a recent report consumers in Britain that want to get online whilst away from the home or office tend to choose mobile broadband over WiFi access. The data comes from the results of a survey carried out by a broadband industry group recently. Mobile phone companies now enjoy a massive forty seven percent share of the mobile Internet market, whilst WiFi takes forty two percent.

Last year was a different story, with WiFi taking forty percent of the market whilst mobile phone companies had a thirty percent share of the mobile Internet market. However, over recent months mobile broadband has really taken off, and this has contributed to the turnaround in these figures.

The research also indicated that not only did the majority of users prefer to use mobile broadband rather than WiFi, but that many of the mobile broadband users are quite happy with their provider. Out of the mobile broadband users that were surveyed only ten percent were considering switching mobile broadband providers in the next six months, indicating that the other ninety percent were happy to stay with their existing provider.

Around twenty six percent of mobile broadband users are with 02 according to the figures. However, one industry official said: “But O2 isn’t the first choice of the new wave users who’ve got dongles or data cards to connect to the network. Vodafone is top in dongle-user market share with 24 per cent of respondents. O2 comes in at 23 per cent followed by Orange, T-Mobile and 3.”