It grows and is increasingly accessible there mobile telephony in Italy: at least 9 out of 10 Italians own a mobile phone, while almost half have a smartphone, also thanks to the drop in prices. Spending on services has halved in two decades. This is the picture that emerges from a GfK elaboration for Vodafone on the occasion of the twentieth birthday of Vodafone Italia.
The survey underlines the pervasiveness reached in twenty years by mobile communication technologies. In 95 there were 2,9 million Italians who owned a cell phone, while today they are almost 47 million, over 90% of the population over the age of 14. The base of smartphone owners is also growing, going from 1,2% of the population in 2009 to 47,6% in 2015. In a decade, the average expenditure for a device has dropped significantly: from 636 to 235 euros for a smartphone and from 169 to 43 euros for a traditional mobile phone.
Service spending halved: in 2007, on average, mobile or smartphone users spent just over 24 euros each month, while today they spend around 12. The use of web services is also the driving force behind mobile telephony, which today involves almost a third of Italians (32,4%) compared to 1,8% in 2007. The most popular online activities on mobile devices are those that have dealing with social networks, Facebook in the lead, followed by sending or receiving e-mails, the use of videos and music, news and online purchases.
