Wireless Internet surfers surpass 20 percent mark

The number of people around the nation who surf the Internet wirelessly has surpassed the 20 percent mark for the first time, but future growth will be limited, a survey said yesterday.

Twenty-two percent of the nation's population, or 4.26 million people, are surfing the Internet without wires -- mostly at home or in the office, according to statistics released by the Taiwan Network Information Center (台灣網路資訊中心).

"Though the wireless population has been increasing steadily, the market is pretty mature with growth rates slowing down," Liang Te-hsin (梁德馨), associate professor of statistics and information science at Fu Jen Catholic University, which conducted the poll under the center's commission, told a press conference.

During the first half of last year, wireless surfers accounted for 18 percent of the population, showing a 2 percentage point increase from the same period a year earlier, the statistics revealed.

The limited growth could be attributed to the higher cost of wireless services, though the Taipei City area alone boasts a large number of wireless surfing areas, or hotspots, which are within easy reach of consumers, Liang said.

The poll results showed that 27 percent of wireless surfers enjoy cyberspace for free, while only 12 percent pay between NT$751 and NT$1,000 each month.

For example, Wifly, Taipei's wireless network service, charges NT$399 for a month's subscription. But it has encountered hurdles in boosting user base, with only 110,000 members after starting formal operations in January last year.

Fon SA, a Madrid-based community WiFi developer, also introduced its service to Taiwan last December, offering an alternative for local users to obtain free or low-cost Internet access.

The survey also found out that around 63 percent of Taiwanese use broadband connections, up slightly compared to 60 percent in January last year and 54 percent in January 2005.

Thirty percent of those polled said they always surf the Internet between 8pm and 9pm.

Their activities include checking Web pages (67 percent), e-mail (40 percent), searching information (26 percent), chatting on MSN or ICQ (24 percent) and playing games (19 percent).

The telephone survey polled 23 cities and counties nationwide between Dec. 4 and Jan. 15, with 3,199 valid samples.