Strong Interest by US Businesses in 3G Service

Nearly 5% of employees in USA companies report that they have already adopted 3G services and an additional 15% to 20% would be likely to do so reports In-Stat. In addition, a recent survey of over 1,000 business users conducted by the high-tech market research firm revealed that mid-sized companies - those with 100 to 1000 employees - have the greatest penetration of wireless among their workforces and spend the most on mobile communication.

"Overall, business users continue to prove themselves to be lucrative customers for mobile carriers, with reported monthly spending of nearly $90 per user, which is approximately double that of the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) reported by carriers," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. Spending by mid-sized companies on mobile data services - both cellular and Wi-Fi - is at least 15% higher than companies of other sizes

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• Nearly 30% of employees surveyed indicated they would like to use a mobile email device. Current usage is under 15% among respondents.
• Among Wi-Fi users who pay for access, mean monthly spending for all business sizes is roughly $40 per month.
• About 10% of respondents who have monthly subscriptions to Wi-Fi also use pay-per-usage hotspots, causing unforeseen telecommunication expenses for their companies.
• Many businesses and employees place a high premium on Internet access, with a large number spending as much or more for Wi-Fi as they spend on monthly cellular bills.

Posted to the site on 12th July 2006