The Rise of Mobile Internet Activity

In the light of multiple news articles, announcements, and industry developments relating to the rise of mobile internet access – the launch of Facebook Deals, the predictions of Professor Manuel Castells regarding the eventual dominance of mobile access over desktop, and the increasingly complex and comprehensive way in which mobile uses are being tracked in web analytics – it is becoming increasingly evident that mobile access is fast becoming the medium par excellence in the online marketplace.

Research carried out by Mobile Squared has provided some intriguing predictions, revealing the monumental expectations of mobile advertising over the course of the next 5 years: projected figures are expected to reach £27.5 million by the end of this year, followed by an epic rise to £258 million by the end of 2015.

In addition to the predicted rise in the UK, the number of mobile internet users in the BFEMM (Big Five European Mobile Markets) of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK will almost triple by 2015. This equates to a rise from 65.51 million to 159.61 million in 5 years time.

All these statistics provide the evidence to support the collective intuition within a media setting that mobile online activity will become the primary player within the internet world. The megascopic proliferation of smartphone technology (which now account for some 20% of all 3 billion mobile devices globally), and the continuous shift towards mobile accessibility is an important signifier of the times we live and operate in.

One commentator on the mobile internet landscape and its ever-expanding frontiers, is the former adviser to Barack Obama, Professor Manuel Castells. In line with common mentality, the professor has recently revealed his belief that internet access via mobile devices will surpass desktop access by 2014, a theory reinforced by Digital Strategy Consulting, whose research concluded that while desktop and laptop search recorded a YOY decline of 15%, mobile search traffic rose by 247% throughout the same period.

Only a few years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine a PC-free world. People who once claimed an inability to live without their TV or Hi-Fi demonstrated similar (if not stronger) attachments to their new found friend, the internet, and such sentiments have already begun to be applied to web-enabled smartphones. What was once a Star Trek fuelled fantasy has become the latest commodity in our collective reach for ultimate communication and connection.