Orange report reveals explosion in mobile data usage

According to a recent report from Orange (the Digital Media Index) there has been a massive increase in mobile data usage over the past three months, quoting up to a 37% increase in some services.

The report, an excerpt of which you’ll find below, makes for some interesting reading. However it really does make me wonder why Orange can’t offer a truly unlimited data package to their customers? Surely by now Orange must realise the importance of mobile data, and their customers need to cap the cost of their access and not have to worry about a nasty surprise at the end of the month? How much longer must we wait for a (reasonably priced) unlimited data service?

The Digital Media Report:

Orange unveiled its second Digital Media Index, a detailed report examining trends in customer consumption of digital media. The Orange Digital Media Index reveals usage patterns across the full range of Orange’s entertainment and communications services, including home broadband, text and picture messaging, and mobile internet over a three month period.

Key findings from the Orange Digital Media Index include:

The camera phone comes of age – there has been a 37% surge in picture messaging with over 1 million photos uploaded from mobiles to online photo albums in August alone

The continued popularity of text messaging – a 25% increase in the medium, with over 1 billion text messages sent per month

The mobile internet gains momentum – Orange World, the Orange mobile portal, received 2.34 million monthly visitors and an average of 250,000 daily repeat users

Music downloads soar – there has been a 15% increase in music downloads to a figure of 295,000, and a 3.4% increase in games downloaded to 691,032

A strong demand for mobile television – so much so that revenue is almost double the forecast

The Index shows that there has been an explosion in mobile data services, generating nearly 22% of network revenue in the last nine months. Rather than using mobile phones for just voice calls and text messaging, customers are increasingly exploring the mobile internet and using email and social networking sites to keep in touch.

Posted By: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Orange]