Consumer & Enterprise Lab interviewed 14,934 people for this year's study, which is representative of 683 million people. All interviews were face-to-face, except in Japan, where the survey was carried out by mail.

Of all respondents, 82 percent pay their own phone bills; only 4 percent have their bills paid by their employer. On average, 46 percent of mobile phone users have pre-paid accounts while 48 percent use post-paid subscriptions. A further 4 percent have both pre-paid and post-paid. 

Globally, the fixed phone is used more often than the mobile, except in the US, China and Japan, where mobiles are used more often than fixed-line phones. In Spain (24 percent), France (23 percent) and China (19 percent), it is more common than in other countries to have a mobile phone but no fixed-line phone.

Globally, 19 percent of mobile phone users plan to get a new mobile within a year. Of these, 83 percent will be renewals. 

When it comes to IT, daily internet use differs greatly between countries. The highest rates of internet use are found in Sweden, where 59 percent of those surveyed used the internet on a daily basis. Great Britain (54 percent) is the next biggest user of the internet. Brazil has the lowest rate of internet use at 12 percent, followed by Spain (23 percent) and Italy (26 percent).

Interest in mobile services beyond voice is increasing, but the uptake of new services is still low globally. Japan and Great Britain are now leading the development of mobile services. ConsumerLab's studies show that targeting and segmentation will become increasingly important for companies wishing to reach a mass market. In most countries, adoption of new mobile services will be youth-driven.

Young people will be attracted by advanced services that offer them enriched communication, such as imaging and video, and services that are fun, such as music and games. Older users will be attracted by advanced services that offer convenience and efficiency in their everyday lives. 

Christina Kohl from Ericsson Consumer & Enterprise Lab says that young people drive the market globally. “Hence youth define the meaning of new services and applications – how, when and why new services are used,” she says. “These young people determine what services other segments will use in the future and how they will use these services.

“The industry has a golden opportunity to make application platforms future-proof and enhance standards in line with current behavior among youth. Therefore it is important to listen to young users and understand their usage patterns.”

By Marney White