The cellular firm yesterday cited results of a yearly consumer study, Yahoo! Net Index 2011, which used a two-part structured questionnaire to determine Internet usage and behavior that included mobile Internet, or access of the Internet via the mobile phone.

The study, now on its third year,  surveyed a total of 1,500 respondents across all socio-economic classes and living in 22 major cities in the country.

The Yahoo! survey also revealed that the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia where women make up a higher proportion of mobile Internet users than men at 57 percent versus 43 percent. It also disclosed that growth in mobile Internet activity came from the youth segment and those from the lower economic groups who use affordable handsets bundled with bite-size voice and data plans for sending e-mails, social networking, instant messaging, and search engines.  

“Accessing the Internet on mobile is rapidly growing across Southeast Asia. By and large we see similar trends across the region in terms of use and access at home, the young demography, affordable handsets and bite-sized prepaid data plans all driving mobile Internet growth,” said David Jeffs, head of Insights for Yahoo! Southeast Asia. “As more Filipinos access the Web via mobile, this will allow telecom companies achieve economies of scale and bring down tariffs, in turn adding further stimulus to mobile Internet growth.”

Globe hopes to keep its mobile data business growing amid the rapid penetration of social media and availability of more affordable smartphones. As of end-September last year, the company’s mobile browsing revenues rose to over P1.4 billion. 

“Mobile browsing has definitely revolutionized the Philippine telecommunications industry with the growing demand for an easier and more accessible way to be connected to the World Wide Web,” said Globe President Ernest Cu. 

(Lenie Lectura)