M:Metrics: European 3G Users Embracing New Multimedia Mobile Culture

M:Metrics has issued the results of its first ever European Benchmark Survey, which finds that "although 3G users account for a low percentage of mobile phones users overall, 3G users in the U.K. or Germany are as much as five times more likely to use the multimedia capabilities of handsets, with increased levels of messaging, and gaming, watching video and downloading new content for personalization of handsets. With 7.7 percent of its mobile users subscribing to 3G services, the U.K. tops Germany and the USA at 3.2 percent and 1.9 percent respectively."

Some other results from the survey include:

• In Germany about 9.8 percent of early adopter UMTS subscribers sent video to another user's handset in a month making them three times more likely to send video compared with 2G German subscribers.
• In the UK 18.9 percent of 3G subscribers sent video from their handsets reflecting the overall higher consumption of data services in this market.
• 3G users in the UK are 9 times more likely to view video on handsets compared with owners of 2G devices and German 3G users are 13 times more likely to view video than counterpart subscribers on prior generation networks.
• 3G subscribers are about twice as likely to download a ring-tone and between three and four times more likely to download a game.

Paul Goode at M:Metrics said, "Despite the varied new messaging options, 3G subscribers are still more likely to use SMS in comparison to non-3G users, so we are not seeing cannibalisation of SMS revenues, as some have speculated. Instead, we see that they are sending SMS while being twice as likely to use mobile e-mail and instant messaging."

Relative Monthly Consumption of Mobile Data Services Over 2G and 3G Networks Quarter Ended December 2005
Activity	UK (Percent of Subscribers)		Germany (Percent of Subscribers)
	3G	2G	3G	2G
Sent Text Message	89.0%	83.0%	84.1%	75.9%
Used Instant Messaging	6.0%	2.8%	3.7%	2.4%
Downloaded Game	10.2%	3.5%	7.0%	1.8%
Purchased Ringtone	12.6%	6.6%	14.7%	6.7%
Captured Video	47.0%	17.1%	30.8%	9.2%
Sent Video to Peer	18.9%	6.9%	9.8%	3.2%
Viewed Short Video Clip	12.8%	1.4%	7.9%	0.6%

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006

U.K. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: December 2005
Activity	Projected Monthly Reach (000s)	Percent U.K. Mobile Subscribers
Sent Text Message	34,205	83.4
Used Photo Messaging	10,516	25.6
Retrieved News and Information via Browser	5,597	13.7
Purchased Ringtone	2,896	7.1
Used Personal E-mail	2,580	6.3
Downloaded Mobile Game	1,664	4.1
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver	1,095	2.7
Used Mobile Instant Messenger	1,269	3.1
Used Work E-mail	1,179	2.9

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 December 2005, n= 21,821

German Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: December 2005
Activity	Projected Monthly Reach (000s)	Percent German Mobile Subscribers
Sent Text Message	31,984	76.2
Used Photo Messaging	6,748	16.1
Purchased Ringtone	2,923	7.0
Used Personal E-mail	2,604	6.2
Retrieved News and Information via browser	1,523	3.6
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver	1,259	3.0
Used Work E-mail	1,070	2.5
Used Mobile Instant Messenger	1,043	2.5
Downloaded Mobile Game	820	2.0

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of German mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 December 2005, n= 21,233