The use of mobile Internet services has exploded in SA, although less than half of urban cellphone users, who have Internet-capable phones, use the Internet, says World Wide Worx.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says the “explosion” is despite the lack of focus on supplying Internet services by the major mobile network operators, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C.
“This is because the mobile operators have been so heavily focused on their own services,” he explains.
Findings of a World Wide Worx study, which was backed by First National Bank (FNB), shows that usage of specific applications, like Mxit and Facebook Mobile, far outpace browsing on the phone. This is despite both being available on almost two-thirds of the phones used by SA's urban cellular users.
While 28% of the urban cellular market is using mobile instant messaging (IM), as many as 65% have the capacity on their phones, meaning only 4.5 million out of 10.5 million potential mobile IM users actually use it. In many cases, an application has been installed on the phone, and the owner may even have registered to use the service, but is not in fact a user.
While 60% of users in this market have phones that can browse the Internet, only 21% report that they use this form of mobile Internet access.
Goldstuck adds: “It is quite startling to find how many have these features on their phones, but don't use them, either out of ignorance or because of cost concerns.”
He says the findings suggest more than half of urban cellular users - 8.5 million - are capable of accessing e-mail on their phones, and as many as 60% - 9.5 million - are able to browse on their phones.
The implications of these numbers are significant: in one fell swoop, they would turn the local Internet user base from the 5.3 million reported by World Wide Worx at the end of 2009, to 9.6 million. Add instant messaging to the mix and the total becomes 10.56 million - exactly double that of the Internet user base at the end of last year.
Don't know how
“The truth is, many people with these applications on their phones do no use them and do not even know how to use them,” says Goldstuck. “It is clear that the cellphone has the potential to take South Africans across the digital divide, but the phones themselves need to become more user-friendly, and a vast amount of consumer education is needed.”
Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO of FNB Cellphone Banking Solutions, says that, while the overall cellphone banking service has grown more rapidly than online banking, the adoption of FNB's mobile banking WAP site has been relatively slow.
"Customers either do not know how to access it via their cellphone, or their phone needs to be configured first in order to access it. However, with technology lifecycles, the adoption of Internet banking via the cellphone will feature more prominently in future,” he notes.
The study was conducted face to face among urban cellphone users aged 16 and older, representing 16 million South Africans.
Recent activity by the mobile networks shows the growing importance of Internet browsing and data services. However, as Goldstuck says, the revenue contribution from these services remains relatively small and only accounts for about 13% of total revenue.
In its annual results for the year ended 31 March, Vodacom reported that mobile broadband revenue had surged by 31.9% to R4.5 billion. It also stated that its South African data customers had grown to 1.1 million - a 42.3% rise - and that it had 7.6 million active data customers across the group.
Dumbing down
A Vodacom spokesperson says more than 500 000 of its subscribers had downloaded its free Opera Mini and free use of data over weekends promotion that was launched three months ago.
“We are making it easier and simpler for people to browse the Internet,” the spokesperson says.
MTN doesn't release official numbers of its data users. However, Goldstuck says the company has broken away from its rigid insistence of sticking to charging 200c per megabit and is now offering more flexible packages.
“MTN's growth rate for data subscribers will probably take off quite rapidly now and even overtake Vodacom's,” Goldstuck adds.
Cell C has had simple data offerings and this has prompted this operator to leapfrog the others by installing a fifth-generation system later this year, Goldstuck says.
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