Traditional broadband connections will not be replaced by mobile internet in the short term, it has been claimed.
The surge in mobile internet usage is unlikely to pose a threat to fixed-line broadband connections.Research published towards the end of last month by the Office for National Statistics revealed that 31 per cent of internet users connected to the web via a mobile phone this year, up from 23 per cent in 2009.
However, tech news magazine Mobile Choice has argued that despite this growing prevalence, traditional home and business broadband propositions from the likes of BT and Virgin Media will not be threatened.
"Until universal Wi-Fi is a reality, you'll still want a fixed broadband/Wi-Fi connection for large downloads and video/music streaming," commented the publication's editor Natasha Stokes.
She went on to point out that 3G coverage - which is used by mobile devices to connect to the internet - is not as fast or reliable as fixed-line broadband and can also prove to be expensive.
Most "unlimited" mobile internet packages have a fair-use policy of between 750MB and 1GB, Ms Stokes noted.