Majority of mobile users worldwide still using 3G to connect to the web

According to a report covering global mobile connectivity for the third quarter, 16% of adults are using a 4G network to connect to the web from their mobile device. Another 16% are using a Wi-Fi connection. The study, produced by GlobalWebIndex, shows that 36% are using a 3G network to connect to the internet on their mobile device.

Looking at each region, North America is the leader as 36% of the adults there are plugged into a 4G network while browsing on a smartphone or tablet. The Middle East and Africa is next at 17%. With 12% of the continent using 4G on a mobile device, Europe was fourth finishing behind the Asia Pacific region (14%), but ahead of Latin America (11%).

Age and income also have a lot to say about how you connect to the internet on a smartphone or tablet. 23% of those in the top quarter of income producers are using a mobile 4G hook up, while that figure drops off to 17% for those earning in the 50 percentile. The figure declines to 13% for those whose income puts them in the bottom 25% of earners. As far as age is concerned, 19% of those 25 to 34 are using a 4G signal on their mobile device to surf the internet. As you might expect, those in the 55 to 64 age bracket are using 4G the least, with 12% connected to the faster network.

The poll found that 80% of the adults responding own a smartphone while 50% admitted to owning a tablet. 9% revealed that they own a smartwach and 7% have a fitness band. Additionally, the survey says that Android is the top OS for smartphones (54%) and tablets (20%), followed by iOS. The iPhone has a 16% market share while the iPad owns 13% of the tablet market worldwide.

There were 41,923 adult respondents to the third quarter poll, which also revealed that the average smartphone user spends 1.85 hours surfing the  web daily, compared with an average of 1.24 hours a day tallied back in 2012.


source: GlobalWebIndex via FierceWireless