Study: Mobile Trends Close to Global Average

Mobile phone usage in Chile is on the verge of reaching global averages in key areas such as overall penetration and average daily minute use, according to a study by Swedish telecoms equipment manufacturer Ericsson.

On average, Chileans speak on their mobiles for 33 minutes a day, while globally the figure is 35 minutes, Ericsson's Southern Cone sales and marketing manager Eduardo Griffa told press.

The study, researched by Ericsson's ConsumerLab department, measures consumer mobile phone trends. For the Chile study, the company spoke with 1,000 individuals between the ages of 15 and 69 in October and November of last year.

Prepaid mobile users account for 77% of the total market, with each user having owned a phone for at least 3.2 years. On average, Chileans replace their mobile phones every two years and 6% of users surveyed expect to purchase a new mobile phone in the next 12 months.

Around 52% considered their mobile spending reasonable, which on average totaled US$29 a month.

However, in the case of fixed line telephony, only 32% of those surveyed said their spending was reasonable, which averaged US$38 a month. In fact, 19% said fixed line telephony was very expensive.

Regarding mobile operators, the majority of interviewees, 72%, said they were satisfied with their current operator.

THIRD GENERATION SERVICES

Email is the most commonly used 3G service, although only 5% of mobile users actually have access to it. However, 29% of those polled expressed interest in using mobile internet.

Regarding the possibility of mobile TV, 29% are interested in the service, and of that total 57% believe that they would use it once or twice a day.

And 40% of those polled would consider replacing home internet services for mobile internet at some point."

Posted to the site on 4th April 2007