New Study: More And More Users Giving Up Home Internet In Favor Of Mobile Data

Based on information collected from a sample of 53,000 American users, it appears that more and more people in the United States are ditching their regular wired web access (via home Internet) for mobile data, preferring to browse the information superhighway using their smartphones and tablet devices instead of desktop computers, as reported by the Washington Post. As many as 1 in 5 households in America are now reliant on mobile data, compared with 1 in 10 back in 2013. That is easily double the rate in just a couple of years.

The study was conducted by the US Census Bureau for the Commerce Department. The data gleaned from the survey shows that American users belonging to the low income category remain one of the largest demographic groups to depend primarily on the mobile devices to surf the Internet. Indeed, to date, almost a third of households with income of not more than $25,000 per year solely take advantage of mobile Internet in order to go online. That percentage represents a significant improvement from the 16 percent of households belonging in that income category in 2013.

This is truly a sign that for struggling households in America, they often can not afford to subscriber to a home Internet connection, and must sometimes go to locations wherein free Wi-Fi connections are available, such as libraries or even fast food chains, in order to search for job opportunities, do homework, and find information in the world wide web.

Interestingly, even users that belong in high income brackets are giving up their wired web access subscriptions in favor of mobile Internet at similar or even faster rates compared with users in low income categories. Back in 2013, 8 percent of households that earn between $50,000 to $75,000 per year rely mainly on mobile data. However in 2015, that figure has now increased to 18 percent. As for households that earn between $75,000 to $100,000 per year, 17 percent of them are now mobile only -- a couple of years ago, that percentage was just 8 percent. Moreover, 15 percent of households earning over $100,000 per year now depend on mobile data, increasing from 6 percent in 2013.

The results of this study strongly suggest signs that Americans are shifting away from fixed networks and into wireless networks. Home broadband used to be king, but today’s wireless technologies, such as 4G LTE and the upcoming 5G, are making it more easy for users to go online using mobile devices. And with just about every American owning smartphones nowadays, it is hardly surprising.