Mobile data use on the up as firms look for new applications

Internet and email access numbers grow despite recession, says study

Mobile services could help retailers boost flagging sales

The mobile data services market is growing despite the worsening economic conditions, according to a survey by analyst The Nielsen Company.

The popularity of mobile email and internet is on the up, with more than half of the 50,000 customers surveyed in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain already using such services and intending to use them more often in the next two years.

"More significantly, according to the research more than a quarter of the millions of consumers who do not use mobile data services today intend to start using them shortly," said Jesse Goranson, senior vice president of mobile media, The Nielsen Company.

The Tellabs-commissioned research was conducted in November, after the advent of the credit crunch. According to the study, this could signal good news for operators since nearly every consumer already owns a mobile phone.

But the potential of mobile commerce will not be fully realised until users are able to access data regardless of their location. As of this summer, the European Commission wants to introduce a €1 per megabyte cap on wholesale fees, which is what operators pay each other.

While Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, and Viviane Reding, media commissioner, are both in favour of rate reduction, Europe's largest mobile operators are still attempting to convince the authorities to scrap their plans or least delay the cuts until 2015 rather than enforcing them from 2012.

Businesses are following such events with interest. For example, online leisure retailer Lastminute.com has shifted the focus of its innovation team almost exclusively to mobile services.

“It is still quite expensive to use the internet on your phone if you are abroad and that is the next barrier to be broken down, though things are moving slowly because of EU regulations and because businesses are realising the power of offering that sort of service,” Marko Balabanovic, head of innovation at Lastminute.com told Computing.

One of the firm's recent initiatives is “nru”, an application for T-Mobile’s G1 Android-based phone that uses its built-in GPS and compass to show users things to do near them, covering bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and cafés. This is part of a wider strategy to increase sales via lower-value products such as meals through mobile devices.

For high-street retailers, the mobile channel is becoming an important ally at a time of difficult trading conditions. Businesses such as Mosaic Fashions have recognised the potential of such tools and are looking at different ways to use the technology to improve sales.

A recent survey of 1,000 consumers carried out by Ingenico revealed that 40 per cent of respondents would consider using their mobile phones to shop because of convenience, reduction in queuing times and a preference to carry less cash and fewer cards around.