DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/74v2tg/the_mobile_interne) has announced the addition of the "The Mobile Internet in South Africa 2012" report to their offering.
The Mobile Internet in South Africa 2012: Mobile Data Slices into Voice
Internet demand is slicing into networks' voice revenues as adult South African cellphone owners increasingly adjust their budgets for data use, according to The Mobile Internet in SA 2012 report, part of the Mobility 2012 research study, conducted by World Wide Worx with the backing of First National Bank. The study shows that the proportion of the average user's cellphone spend on data has increased by half in the past 18 months - from 8% of budget at the end of 2010 to 12% in mid-2012.
Spending on voice has dropped from 77% to 73% in the same period - precisely matching the difference in data spend. Meanwhile, SMS spend remains steady at 12%, and full music tracks feature for the first time - taking up 1% of the average spend on a cellphone.
Spend on data is a barometer for the rapid increase both in the number of Internet users in South Africa and in the intensity with which experienced users engage with the Internet, says Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx.
The biggest increases in specific uses of data on the phone were seen in instant messaging services, with more than a fivefold increase in the proportion of BBM users in the past 18 months - from 3% to 17% of adult cellphone users living in cities and towns - and WhatsApp emerging from nowhere to claim a quarter of adult cellphone users. Browsing on the phone also increased substantially, from 33% to 41% of users, app downloads rose from 13% of users to 24%, while Facebook use rose by more than half, from 22% to 38%.
The findings represent powerful backing for our strategy of providing banking services across new channels and platforms like Facebook and the apps environment, says Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO, FNB Cellphone Banking. We're keeping our fingers on the pulse of these rapid changes, and will expand and refine our offerings as the market's use of these tools changes.
Proportionally, the biggest growth after BBM was seen in the Twitter user base, which rose from 6% to 12% of adult cellphone owners.
This is only the beginning: the social networking genie is out of the bottle, says Goldstuck, Businesses have to recognise the trend, and begin developing strategies to address it.
Key Topics Covered:
Internet access on cellphones
Internet access by device platform
Demographics of data usage on cellphones
Mobile browsing demographics
Social networking and Instant Messaging on cellphones, including:
- MXit
- BlackBerry Messenger
- 2Go
E-mail on cellphones
Mobile sites visited on cellphones
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/74v2tg/the_mobile_interne