Orange notches up three million mobile data addicts

Orange customers' appetite for mobile data shows no signs of slowing.

In its Q3 financial report, Orange said its mobile broadband customer base has now reached a total of 2.9 million users - up 86 per cent year on year.

Orange said data usage in the third quarter of the year has been "significant" - with traffic doubling since Q2. The operator attributes "sustained" usage growth to sales of USB dongles to contract customers, with an increased number of 3G mobile broadband customers also helping to boost data traffic.

Data revenues now represent more than a fifth (23.1 per cent) of Orange's network revenues, with data services earning Orange £745m in revenue in the first nine months of the year.

The operator said 3G mobile broadband coverage has risen to 94 per cent of the population, with 3.5G (HSDPA) access also rising to cover more than 56 per cent of the UK's citizens.

By the end of 2009, Orange plans to be offering 14.4Mbps mobile broadband in the top five UK cities; 7.3Mbps in the top 30; and 2Mbps for 80 per cent of population.

Analyst house Analysys recently predicted around a quarter of broadband homes in the UK will ditch fixed-line fat pipes in favour of internet access via 3G networks in five years' time.