Mobile Internet access in RP rises 5% on higher email, search usage

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile Internet access in the Philippines has grown from virtually zero last year to five percent in 2010, with instant messaging, e-mail and text messaging (SMS) driving usage.

According to the Yahoo! Net Index study, there are now 29.7 million Internet users in the Philippines, which has become a critical piece of the Asia-Pacific Internet industry.

The study identified four significant changes in online user behavior in the Philippines. First, search has become the predominant online activity, overtaking email and instant messaging. Filipino users are using search engines primarily to find entertainment content online including images, video and music.

Second, with the increase in entertainment-related searches, consumption of entertainment content is also expanding. Music videos, television show and movie trailers have become increasingly popular with the online audiences. Third, with attractive tariffs driving adoption of mobile Internet, Filipinos are now using the mobile Web for communication functions such as email and instant messenger. And lastly, social media is ushering a fundamental shift in the way people interact with each other and media.

“With a generation of young Filipinos growing up as digital natives, understanding their media habits is critical to understanding the future. The Philippines is one of the fastest growing markets for the Internet in Southeast Asia and Yahoo! is truly pioneering the study of Internet usage in the region and educating marketers on the way forward here,” Yahoo! Philippines general manager Jack Madrid said.

For his part, Nielsen Media Philippines executive director Jay Bautista noted that while the Philippine market is distinct, information and insights on Filipino Internet users remain limited.

“In the current economy, digital media is more than a buzzword. Net Index addresses the expressed need by publishers, marketers and advertisers for a clear perspective and direction to craft meaningful online strategies. We are proud to associate with Yahoo! in developing a resource that will produce tangible benefits for the industry,” he pointed out.

The study revealed that search, as the number one online activity, has grown significantly from 58 percent to 76 percent to become the dominant online activity surpassing email and instant messaging. The young and middle-aged, from 10 to 39 years old, are the predominant users. Entertainment-related content is the most searched for (62 percent), followed by videos (52 percent), information/research documents (44 percent), and music/audio clips (31 percent).

Entertainment consumption is proliferating, with music uploading/downloading increaqsing from 25 percent to 41 percent year over year, video uploading/downloading growing from 22 percent to 38 percent every year, and  music videos accounting for 73 percent of video accessed in the past month and movie trailers representing 28 percent of video consumed.

Meanwhile, mobile Internet is finally picking up, driven in part by lucrative subscription packages. Access is skewed to young adults aged 20 to 39 while activities driving usage are instant messaging (77 percent), e-mail (75 percent), and SMS (59 percent).

As for social networking, the study showed that it is still the most popular social media activity (53 percent), followed by user-generated content (30 percent), blogging (seven percent), and forums (11 percent).

Social networking is also primarily used to stay in touch with friends and family (66 percent), send emails (64 percent), and for online chats (63 percent).