Briefly Noted: Updates, Observations and Trends

Each month, we collect miscellaneous happenings, studies, trends or observations you might have missed. This month's briefs include the correlation between broadband usage and a decline in TV viewing, and the impact smartphones are having on US mobile email growth.

Decline in TV viewing

Ofcom's recently published International Communications Market Report found that:

• Broadband usage appears linked to a decline in conventional television viewing in every country surveyed
• China leads the world in viewing music videos and TV programs over broadband; 76% of Chinese broadband users watch downloadable or streaming music video clips and 70% watch TV over broadband
• The UK is second only to China in its enthusiasm for online video among 18-24 year old broadband users
• UK adoption of new services like VoIP and IPTV is slower than in other countries
• UK consumers buy more music online than consumers in any of the other European countries in the report
• The Internet attracts almost 10% of all advertising spending in the UK; a higher proportion than in any other country surveyed.

Additional conclusions are contained in the report ( www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/icmr06/ ).

U.S. Mobile Email Growth

According to the NPD Group's Mobile Consumer Track, personal e-mail usage on U.S. consumers' mobile phones increased from 3 percent of mobile phone users in March 2006 to 6 percent by the end of the third quarter. They attribute the growth to an increase in smartphones and the introduction of more unlimited data plans. Consumers with household incomes above $100K per year represent the largest share of mobile personal e-mailers. Of the major carriers, Sprint led with 12 percent of their subscribers using personal e-mail the prior month, followed by T-Mobile with 9 percent. ( www.npd.com )