• Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Contact
  • Log in
CCS Insight
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who We Serve
    • What We Do
    • Jobs
  • Research Areas
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Press
    • Company News
    • Media Coverage
    • Media Resources
  • Try for free
  • Menu Menu
  • About
  • Research Areas
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Press
  • Contact Us

Young European Consumers Want the PC Web Experience on Their Phones

CCS Insight survey shows Facebook, Twitter, StudiVZ and Tuenti dominate mobile Internet usage, but network operators fail to maximise opportunities.

February 9th, 2010 — A survey published today by CCS Insight reveals that while a significant proportion of young Europeans now access the Internet from their mobile phones on a frequent, often daily, basis, most of them ignore the services offered by mobile phone companies in favour of more-familiar names from the Web. While the research suggests ways for network operators and phone-makers to maximise uptake of the mobile Internet, results indicate many of these opportunities are being overlooked.

Key findings of the survey include:

  • Up to a quarter of young people now access the mobile Internet every day
  • Mobile operator portals and services such as Nokia’s Ovi are losing out to familiar Web brands like Facebook, Amazon and Twitter
  • The success of local-language networking sites shows there is life beyond Facebook. Around half of mobile social network users in Germany access StudiVZ on their mobile phone; 62 percent in Spain access Tuenti
  • About two-thirds of Italian and Spanish women under 36 have never accessed the Internet on their mobile phones, partly because mobile operators are failing to deliver services that appeal to this untapped market
  • Increasing use of phones to access social networks coupled with demand for mobile gaming creates an opportunity for a new mobile social gaming phenomenon
  • As multiple e-book readers descend on Europe, mobile phones still have a role as the preferred way to access e-publications

Martin Garner, Director of Mobile Internet at CCS Insight and one of the report’s authors, said: “Our survey reveals the true picture of mobile Internet usage among young consumers in Europe’s top five markets. It shows that as smartphones become more affordable, people are using them to access the sites they know and love on their PCs. Mobile network operators and handset manufacturers are losing the battle to define the mobile Internet experience, despite the huge sums they’re pouring into sites that compete with the familiar Web names.” On the eve of the industry’s biggest gathering in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, CCS Insight’s report highlights some key lessons still to be learned.

While the survey shows that over 60 percent of mobile Internet users in Europe’s five largest markets prefer to ignore specifically tailored portals from mobile operators, it does reveal that mobile phones have a role to play in other current consumer trends. For example, in Italy, over 40 percent of young people who expressed an interest in e-newspapers said they would only read them on their phone. This finding and data from other countries in the survey suggest that despite excitement around the launch of several e-book readers, the mobile phone is still the device of choice for many consumers accessing multimedia content.

The report also found that although many young people are reluctant to pay for music or video downloads on mobile phones, 39 percent do pay for mobile games, and a further 19 percent of respondents would be willing to. Combined with the popularity of social networking sites for mobile Internet users, this suggests a big opportunity to drive mobile Internet traffic through popular social gaming applications.

In contrast to the general reluctance to access networks’ mobile Internet portals, over half of all mobile Internet users surveyed said they access Facebook on their phone and 10 percent access Twitter. The most popular mobile Internet application is e-mail with 61 percent of young mobile Internet users in Europe’s top five markets accessing e-mail on the move.

Paolo Pescatore, Director of Operator Strategy at CCS Insight and co-author of the report, commented: “Despite the warnings for the mobile industry, the opportunities are there. Network operators, phone-makers and media companies need to focus less on what they want to sell and more on what consumers want to access on their mobile phones. The alternative will be to sit back and watch the large Web brands continue to define the future of the mobile Internet.”

The CCS Insight report, Mobile Internet Usage in Europe, 2009 by Martin Garner and Paolo Pescatore, is available for purchase here.

Notes to Editors

CCS Insight

CCS Insight is a top mobile industry analyst firm. The company provides a blend of timely and authoritative market information, analysis and intelligence for companies around the world who are focused on the wireless and mobile sector.

CCS Insight has a global team of expert analysts, with offices in the US and Europe. It has earned a reputation for unparalleled knowledge and understanding of the communications market, and an ability to synthesise information and predict market movements and developments. For more information, visit www.ccsinsight.com

Mobile Internet Usage in Europe, 2009

The survey was conducted among a sample of 5,000 mobile phone owners aged 16 to 35 in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The field work was completed in December 2009.

For media enquiries please contact:
Gareth Williams, Harvard PR gareth.williams (at) harvard.co.uk T: +44 7554114882

Share this Insight
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

You might also like

Shaun Collins Leads GLOMO Awards Body for Fourth Year

18 January 2021/0 Comments/by CCS Insight
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Shaun_Collins_sq_s.jpg 540 540 CCS Insight https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png CCS Insight2021-01-18 15:41:082021-01-19 14:38:52Shaun Collins Leads GLOMO Awards Body for Fourth Year

CCS Insight’s Ben Wood Named in Top Five Tech Analysts of 2020

14 January 2021/0 Comments/by Romina Portela
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ben_Wood_sq_s_white.jpg 540 540 Romina Portela https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png Romina Portela2021-01-14 09:14:572021-01-14 09:24:50CCS Insight’s Ben Wood Named in Top Five Tech Analysts of 2020

CCS Insight’s Nick McQuire Wins Global Analyst Award

22 December 2020/0 Comments/by CCS Insight
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NM_t.png 81 81 CCS Insight https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png CCS Insight2020-12-22 09:35:542020-12-22 09:38:06CCS Insight’s Nick McQuire Wins Global Analyst Award

Extended Reality Sails Toward Better Times

8 December 2020/0 Comments/by Marina Koytcheva
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VRAR_forecast_Dec2020_600.png 330 600 Marina Koytcheva https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png Marina Koytcheva2020-12-08 09:49:222020-12-08 09:50:09Extended Reality Sails Toward Better Times

5G Adoption to Surge as 5G Smartphones Proliferate and Prices Tumble

13 October 2020/0 Comments/by Marina Koytcheva
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/5G_forecast_connections_October_2020_s.png 320 640 Marina Koytcheva https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png Marina Koytcheva2020-10-13 09:52:192020-10-13 09:53:255G Adoption to Surge as 5G Smartphones Proliferate and Prices Tumble

Links

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Follow us

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

© 2020 CCS Insight

GSMA Quotes CCS Insight Mobile Broadband Report CCS Insight Announces New Board Director
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Accept settingsHide notification only