3G making waves, especially in midsized business

SearchMobileComputing covers recent research from In-Stat that nearly 5% of U.S. business users "have already adopted 3G services, while another 15% to 20% are "extremely interested" in adoption."

David Chamberlain at In-Stat analyst was surprised "to see the number of users who have already adopted 3G, and it signifies that 3G may soon be ready for prime time." He said, "It's entering the mainstream. There are people who are looking at it, thinking about it and planning to use it."

Chamberlain remarked "the survey also uncovered a number of reasons why 3G could be a better choice than Wi-Fi for wireless data connectivity. Across all business sizes, Wi-Fi costs roughly $40 a month per user. Most companies end up spending more on Wi-Fi bills than on cellular bills because businesses and employees place a high premium on Internet access."

Chamberlain said, "Generally, spending is higher for Wi-Fi. Cellular data spending per user is less by between half and two-thirds than Wi-Fi. Using 3G is less costly."

He added, "When you're using Wi-Fi, you've got a fast connection or you've got nothing. If you have cellular in some form, you have fast or you have not so fast, but you still have something."

Chamberlain noted, "We've really found that midsized businesses spend the most on all mobile services…they have the largest percentage of employees who are using those services."

Chamberlain concluded, "We're on the way. It's got a lot of appeal. I think people who need mobility are going to see it has a lot to offer."