Britain is becoming a nation of nomadic shoppers, steamers and sharers, according to new research by the 4GEE Mobile Living Index.
The study, which was based on EE network data and a survey of 1,000 EE users, showed that a third are streaming more video over 4G than they did using 3G with BBC iPlayer, Netflix among the favourite services. 4G, which is five times faster than home broadband yet only covers 60 per cent of the population, said a wave of people streaming the Wimbledon final made it the busiest day ever for the network with a 20 per cent jump.
Fotis Karonis, Chief Technology Officer, EE said: “A large proportion of activity on our 3G network is web browsing. But on 4G customers enjoy traditionally fixed line activities such as shopping, watching movies and catching up with TV on their mobiles. It is a real evolution, with a quarter of our customers now spending more than three hours a day on the mobile internet.
“What is really interesting is that with 4G upload speeds five times faster than home broadband, we are seeing social media use becoming more mobile and transforming faster than had been imagined.”
Other major events such as the London Marathon and Baroness Thatcher‘s funeral saw the amount of data uploaded onto the network surpassing downloads for the first time.
Customers who enjoy bigger screens such as the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 drove 60 per cent more streaming of video data than people who owned smartphones. 02 recently announced they would be launching its 4G service this month as it aims to keep pace with new growing demand for new technology.
Demographically, the research showed that women now make up nearly half of EE‘s new customers, while 4G users are five years younger than 3G users.
