NTIA Report Touts U.S. Growth in Mobile Device Use
U.S. mobile device users increased their activity and accessed applications on mobile devices that they previously accessed on a computer or not at all, an NTIA report said (http://1.usa.gov/1phrfjT). Released Thursday, “Exploring the Digital Nation: Embracing the Mobile Internet” reported significant increases in mobile phone users 25 and older using their devices to download mobile apps, browse the Web, check email and use social networks, NTIA said (http://1.usa.gov/1qDvTZS). The data is based on a sample of more than 53,000 households surveyed from July 2011 and October 2012, it said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Users of mobile devices are moving far beyond phone calls and “revolutionizing the way America interacts with the Internet and how they work and play online,” said John Morris, associate administrator, NTIA Office of Policy Analysis and Development. Mobile devices are heading toward ubiquity, he said during a conference call. They appear to help close the digital divide, he said. “We’re seeing significant penetration across all demographics.”
Use in families with incomes below $25,000 grew from 73 percent to 77 percent, the release said. Usage growth among Americans with disabilities increased from 68 percent to 72 percent, it said. In rural communities, use grew five percentage points to 85 percent, while use in urban areas grew from 86 percent to 88 percent, it said.
The increasing use of mobile phones reflects initiatives of government agencies and likely will compel businesses to make enhancements in the mobile space, said Morris. Businesses will respond to the information and “move more of their focus to interacting with customers in a mobile environment,” he said.
Out of the households surveyed, 28 percent reported not using broadband at home, the report said. Some households claimed there was no need or interest, others had affordability concerns, and other respondents said they don’t have a computer, it said.
The FCC, NTIA and Rural Utilities Service have different initiatives to get broadband out to people, Morris said. The report's data validated the need for those initiatives, and show “there’s more work to be done and agencies are pursuing policies to promote broad and competitive availability,” he said. Most of federal funding to provide broadband everywhere has run out, he said. “But there are things that states and municipalities can do to promote access.”
NTIA will continue monitoring data concerning users’ concerns about privacy, the report said. Only 1 percent of households expressed privacy concerns as the primary reason for not using the Internet at home, it said. Data breaches and more awareness of privacy issues “may affect this response in future years,” it said.