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Although mobile wireless broadband access is now utilized by a mere one percent of the population, it is growing by triple digits, according to a new study. The number of mobile devices accessing the Internet via broadband wireless networking technology grew 154 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with the same period in 2006, according to research firm, comScore Inc. Specifically, 2,168,000 mobile devices accessed the mobile web via broadband technology during the fourth quarter of 2007.

Wireless broadband access greatly speeds loading times of web pages on mobile devices, compared with standard wireless data networking technology. "Though mobile broadband access currently is used by about one percent of the total U.S.

Internet population, it is poised for significant growth over the next few years," said Serge Matta, SVP at comScore. "As consumers increasingly demand and depend on portable Internet access, the demand for mobile broadband should continue to increase," he concluded.

Last year, wireless telecommunications providers Verizon and Sprint accounted for the majority of the mobile broadband market, according to comScore. AT&T has announced it will increase its coverage this year.

ComScore's research shows that use of wireless broadband is something of a luxury, skewing toward the highest income households. U.S. Internet users making at least $100,000 a year are 37 percent more likely than average to use mobile broadband.

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