Mobile TV viewing on the up as consumers demand high speed Wi-Fi

More consumers are looking for high-speed internet access than ever before, according to the 2015 ARRIS Consumer Entertainment Index (CEI).

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of Wi-Fi users are now watching mobile TV once a week using mobile devices, such as tablets, while four out of five of those who stream content now do so on a weekly basis.

New research from the CEI has also found that the average home now has around six video devices connected to its Wi-Fi, as consumers demand Wi-Fi without limits.

In addition, more than 59 per cent of all people now watch TV on the go, thanks to its convenience and cost, while 72 per cent of consumers revealed it is more important for them to download content to a device rather than stream.

Sandy Howe, senior VP for global marketing at ARRIS, said: “The ARRIS CEI research offers our customers invaluable insight into the evolving consumer interaction with entertainment technology and content.

“All of these trends point to a tremendous opportunity for service providers and programmers to customise their offerings to these new consumer trends and to ensure the quality of the home’s Wi-Fi network, which increasingly is bearing the weight of this evolution in services.”

Other trends revealed include a rise in binge-viewing, with 60 per cent of consumers watching content alone.

This news comes as analyst Gartner forecasts a 59 per cent growth in mobile data worldwide in 2015.

Global mobile data traffic is estimated to reach 52 million terabytes (TB), which is expected to rise to 173 million TB by 2018.

Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner, added: “Mobile data traffic is soaring worldwide, more than tripling by 2018.

"New, fast mobile data connections (3G and 4G) will grow more slowly, from 3.8 billion in 2015 to 5.1 billion in 2018, as users switch from slower 2G connections and consume more mobile data."

Image source: Shutterstock

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