Mobile broadband use jumps 154 percent
American workers apparently are getting more comfortable accessing the Web via their cell phones and PDAs.
The number of mobile devices accessing the Internet via wireless broadband skyrocketed 154 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with the same period in 2006, according to research released Tuesday by ComScore.
The study also found that mobile broadband had a higher presence on work computers (59 percent) compared with home or personal computers (41 percent).
Verizon and Sprint accounted for the majority of the mobile broadband market last year, according to ComScore.
"Though mobile broadband access is currently used by about 1 percent of the total U.S. Internet population it is poised for significant growth over the next few years," Serge Matta, senior vice president of ComScore, said in a statement. "As consumers increasingly demand and depend on portable Internet access, the demand for mobile broadband should continue to increase."
The study defined mobile broadband as connections based on cellular networks using a PC card, built-in adapter, or connections tethered via a cell phone or PDA, rather than via Wi-Fi hot spots.
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.
