Friday, July 17, 2009

China: Mobile Internet users now number 155 million and growing rapidly according to CNNIC

[china news wrap] The Sina news portal has a headline news story reporting that the total number of internet users in China has reached 338 million, and that the total number of people in China who access the internet by means of their mobile phones has reached 155 million.

“At 13:30 in the afternoon on 16 July, the China National Network Information Centre (CNNIC) released its ‘24th Internet Development Statistical Report’ in Beijing, indicating that as of 30 June 2009, the total number of Chinese internet users was 338 million, and the total number of Chinese internet users with broadband access was 320 million, comprising 94.3% of all internet users. The total number of internet users who use their mobile phones to access the internet is 155 million.”

“The ‘Report’ indicates that as of 30 June, the total number of Chinese internet users and Chinese broadband users is still the highest in the world, and that the internet access rate is steadily increasing. With the development of 3G technology, the number of internet users who use their mobile phones to access the internet has already reached 155 million, comprising 46% of all internet users, and increasing by 32.1% within the space of only six months.”

“At the same time, internet security has become one of the most important issues for all areas of society, with the existence of internet worms, viruses and trojan horses creating problems for the development of e-commerce and online payment. The report points out that given the rapid increase in the number of internet users and internet applications, China’s internet must develop from the stage of usability to the stage of reliability.”

“Number of internet users remains highest in the world, internet access continues to grow steadily.”

“The effect of the global financial crisis, which continues to spread, upon China’s internet has not been significant. The ‘Report’ indicates that the number of Chinese internet users and broadband users is soaring, and that China’s total number of internet users continues to remain the highest in the world. As of the end of June 2009, the total number of China’s internet users was 338 million, increasing by 13.4% compared to the end of 2008, and increasing by 40 million in the space of half a year. The number of broadband internet users reached 320 million, comprising 94.3% of all internet users, and increasing by 3.7 percentage points compared to the end of 2008.”

“With the continuing increase in the number of internet users, the access to the internet within China has also steadily increased. Data indicates that as of the end of June 2009, China’s internet access rate reached 25.5%, maintaining a steady rate of increase.”

“Mobile phone internet use increases by 30% in six months, 3G market capacity still highly flexible”

“Data from the ‘Report’ shows that as of June 2009, the number of internet users who use their mobile phones to access the internet reached 155 million, increasing by 32.1% in six months. In addition to benefiting from the strenuous efforts of the government and businesses to promote its usage, this increase is also closely related to innate trends in internet usage, and the wealth of developments in methods for using mobile phones to access the internet. The proportion of people in rural areas using mobile phones to access the internet has also further increased.”

“According to surveys, amongst internet users who use mobile phones to access the internet, 28% indicated that in future they would use 3G mobile phones to acces the internet; 39.6% had no definite attitudes about how they would use mobile phones to access the internet in future. Amongst internet users who have not used their mobile phones to access the internet, 14.8% indicated that they might use their mobile phone to access the internet within the next six months, and of these people, 49% indicated that they would use 3G mobile phones to access the internet. This clearly indicates that the future market capacity for 3G mobile phone technology is quite flexible, and needs businesses to invest their efforts in its development.”

“Entertainment applications see stable development, commercial applications also develop”

“The ‘Report’ indicates that at present, the percentage of Chinese internet users who use the internet for entertainment, obtaining information and social interaction is relatively high, and that in addition to discussion forums and BBS’s, over 50% of internet users use the internet for these three purposes. Use of the internet for entertainment purposes has stabilized following a long-period of rapid increase. Use of the internet to listen to music is still the most popular form of usage, with the usage rate increasing by 1.8% in the past six months. The number of people who use the internet to watch television shows or movies is increasing rapidly, growing by 10% in the past six months.”

“What is worth noting is that the use of the internet for commercial transactions has increased wildly, due to the effects of the international financial crisis. The number of people who use the internet for purchasing goods has reached 87.88 million, increasing by 14 million in the space of six months. The rate of usage of the internet for payment purposes has increased by 4.8 percentage points in the past half year. Analysts point out that the financial crisis has made the advantages of using internet purchasing platforms more pronounced, attracting a large number of internet purchasers. This is the reason that the use of the internet for commercial transactions has increased so quickly.”

“The importance of internet security increases daily, internet reliabilty has become the future trend.”

“The ‘Report’ points out that in the past six months, 195 million internet users have suffered from computer viruses and trojan horses as a result of internet use, and 110 million internet users have experienced problems with people stealing their account numbers or codes. The problem of internet security has caused the confidence of internet users in the in the internet to decline, with only 29.2% of internet users feeling that online transactions are safe. This further restricts e-commerce, online payments, and the development of internet commercial applications.”

“Analysts point out that with the constant improvement of China’s basic internet facilities, the increase in the number of internet users, and the innovation and development of internet technology, internet applications have gradually shifted from entertainment to infiltrate all areas of economic life, and the need for confidence in the internet and internet security is also continually increasing. Means for increasing the level of trust of internet users in the internet have already become an issue in urgent need of resolution, and the creation of a ‘reliable’ internet environment on a foundation of ‘usability’ has become the necessary trend of the future.”

Total number of Chinese internet users reaches 338 million

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