At last we know what those people glued to their mobile phones on the bus in the mornings are doing. The vast majority are checking social networking sites but if they are not doing that, they are probably paying bills.
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A new report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority revealed that in June, almost four million people aged 14 or over used their mobile phone to access the internet, a 63per cent increase on the previous June.
The emerging mobile telecommunications report found that 1.55million people in June used their mobile phone to access social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, while 751,000 used their phones to do banking or pay bills.
More than 550,000 people streamed videos or movies, 304,000 streamed audio, 274,000 used a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) service and 100,000 used their mobile phone for online shopping. The report found that 37per cent of mobile phone users have a smartphone and 58per cent a 3G phone.