IDC: More U.S. mobile web users than wireline users by 2015

More people in the United States will access the web via mobile devices than via wireline computers by 2015, according to a new study from IDC.

“Forget what we have taken for granted on how consumers use the Internet,” said Karsten Weide, IDC research vice president of media and entertainment, in a statement. “Soon, more users will access the Web using mobile devices than using PCs, and it’s going to make the Internet a very different place.”

The statistic isn’t exactly shocking when you consider the staggering number of smartphones with data plans being sold today. But it does confirm just how fast that number is growing, and it sheds light on how user behavior will likely change during the next few years. With faster 4G network speeds and increased coverage, it’s easy to see that many users would simply use their connected phones or tablets rather than PCs reliant on a home or work connection.

Specifically, IDC predicts that the number of U.S. mobile web users will grow annually by a compound growth rate of 16.6% between 2010 and 2015. The study also predicts that the total number of Internet users in the world will grow from 2 billion in 2010 to 2.7 billion in 2015, giving 40 percent of the world access.

Other slightly less important points of the research focus on consumer e-commerce spending and advertiser spending. The study indicates that global e-commerce spending will move from $708 billion in 2010 to $1.3 trillion in 2015. It also predicts worldwide online advertising will increase from $70 billion in 2010 to $138 billion in 2015, with ad share across media types growing from 11.9% to 17.8%.

Based on these predictions, mobile device and web adoption will continue growing at an incredible rate. Consumers are hungry for the latest mobile devices, especially from market leaders like Apple and Samsung, and it’s unlikely they’ll be satiated any time soon.

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