NIELSEN: U.S. IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN MOBILE INTERNET ADOPTION, REACHING A CRITICAL MASS FOR MOBILE MARKETING IN THE U.S.

Nielsen Mobile launches report examining the global mobile Internet market

 New York, NY and San Francisco, CA, July 8, 2008 – 40 million US mobile subscribers (15.6 percent) actively use the mobile Internet, making the US a leader in mobile Internet adoption, according to a report released today by The Nielsen Company.  In 16 countries tracked, the US leads in penetration, followed by the UK (12.9 percent) and Italy (11.9 percent).

Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, published the paper which examines the global mobile Internet market.  Among other key takeaways of the report:

• The US mobile Internet market, with 40 million active users, has reached a critical mass for mobile Internet marketing

• The Motorola RAZR phones are the most popular phones among US mobile Internet users, while Nokia handsets lead the market in Europe and Asia

• Unlimited data packages are increasingly popular with mobile Internet users.  Today 14 percent of US subscribers access the mobile Internet with an unlimited data package, and 50 percent of data users say that they prefer the unlimited pricing model.

• 3G networks drive user satisfaction with mobile Internet, and these networks improve data throughput speeds as much as six times, compared with 2 and 2.5G networks

• Advertising is becoming a common part of the mobile Internet experience.  Today 26 percent of mobile Internet users view ads while using the mobile Internet.

• Mobile Internet users are more receptive to mobile advertising than average data users

“With highly capable devices, improving network speeds and millions of mobile users visiting individual websites over their phones, we believe mobile Internet reached a critical mass for mobile marketing this year,” said Nic Covey, director of insights at Nielsen Mobile and author of the report.  “A confluence of factors will only further ignite this market, rapidly, this year and into 2009.”

The paper, “Critical Mass: The Worldwide State of the Mobile Web,” draws on Nielsen’s broad portfolio of mobile consumer and market research to provide insights on the universe, devices, data plans, network speeds, websites frequented and the mobile Internet marketing opportunity in the US and internationally.

Among other findings, Nielsen Mobile identified the top 10 US mobile websites as of May 2008.  Yahoo! Mail, with 14 million unique monthly visitors, is the leading mobile Internet channel:

“We’re frequently asked whether the mobile Internet marketing opportunity will be realized in 2008 or 2009,” said Covey. “We believe the audience, inventory and planning tools are in place to make mobile Internet marketing an important part of the media consideration set today.”

Nielsen’s white paper on worldwide mobile Internet adoption and use is available today at http://www.nielsenmobile.com/documents/CriticalMass.pdf

About Nielsen Mobile

Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, is the world's largest independent provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets.  Nielsen Mobile focuses exclusively on tracking the behavior, attitudes and experiences of mobile consumers; their reports also provide up to seven years of data on Internet, video, gaming, audio and advertising trends for mobile phone users.  Nielsen’s technology-driven research provides unique and holistic insight into how mobile customers use their devices and what they think about brands, devices and services.  For more information, please visit www.nielsenmobile.com.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek).  The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA.  For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

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Paul Okimoto

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