Sep 20, 2010 11:04 AM,

Reader mobile data usage poll results: Either a little or a lot

By Kevin Fitchard

Those surveyed either consumed very little data or a lot, with little in between.

(This story is part of Connected Planet’s Mobile Data Paradox microsite – an ongoing collection of features, blogs and opinions on the key question facing mobile operators today: how do you make a business of 4G and mobile data?

It all leads up to the 4G Salon event at our upcoming Connected Planet Virtual Industry Forum. Register now to join us at this exciting, interactive event.)
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Though hardly scientific or broad, our first poll on mobile data usage patterns revealed an interesting result: Readers either consumed very little data a month or a whole bunch of it — there was little in between.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they consumed 200 MB or less of data on their smartphones or feature phones each month, putting them well within the low-tier range AT&T is targeting for its usage-based data plans and as ideal candidates for new budget data plans offered by Walmart and T-Mobile. Meanwhile, as smaller but sizable subset of respondents, 23%, said they consumed more than 1 GB of data a month. Only 14% said they consumed between 200 MB and 1 GB.

I should point out the survey was small — 64 votes at last count — and the average Connected Planet reader probably has different data consumption patterns than the general public. Also, a large number of respondents had no idea how much capacity they drew from their wireless providers, which makes sense given the preponderance of smartphone data contracts offering unlimited usage. But as an informal poll, the survey seems to back up the theory that there are two types of mobile data users in the market: the casual user and the committed user.

While the casual user may use e-mail extensively and surf the Web, the committed user is probably trying to milk as much as he can out of the network in terms of applications and services — at least that’s what I suspect. We’ll explore that aspect of mobile data consumption in our next poll later this week. Meanwhile, the usage poll is still up on the microsite if you’d like to submit your vote