TNS Research International today released the results of the Global Telecoms Insights 2009. The survey was carried out in 35 countries with 3 countries in Africa namely Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. The sample size for both Nigeria and Kenya were 700 respondents compared to the worldwide sample of more than 26,800 and was carried out between November and December 2009. The results of the study were released by James Fergusson, TNS' Global Director for Rapid Growth & Emerging Markets.Mobile phone purchase declined over 2009 but was expected to pick up in 2010. The research exhibited various disparities between the developed market, the developing countries such as India, China, Brazil and the emerging markets mostly in Africa.

Kenya was ranked high in confidence to purchase mobile phones within the next year. According to the survey, the key drivers for mobile phone purchase in the country were found to be by word of mouth closely followed by shop displays and information provided by shop assistants. It was also found out that Kenyans tended to be influenced more by the brand name when it came to purchasing phones followed by model of the phone and lastly by phone functionality and their network. Kenyans spend an average of US$54 on their last phone and were willing to spend upto US$85 on their next phone. The primary concern for consumers was consolidation of content which was particularly evident in Chinese brands hence leading to their quick adoption.

When it came to device usage, the study indicated that Kenyans tend to place the mobile phone as the  leading device in their lives. The mobile phone thus served as both an entertainment and communication device . This was due to several factors such as access to electricity and income levels. Mobility also heavily influenced on mobile phone usage, with mobile phones being heavily used for entertainment , followed by messaging and other functionality. The percentage of messages sent through mobile phones stood at 97 per cent in Kenya, 95 per cent in Nigeria compared to 64 per cent in Europe. Mobile phone penetration was at 50 per cent in the country while fixed line penetration was pegged at a measly 4 per cent, tying with internet penetration.

Mobile entertainment was a primary use of phones in Kenya with FM radio leading followed by downloaded music. Comparatively, downloaded music was the main source of entertainment in Africa. Fifty-one per cent of respondents between age group 16-30 said they would prefer paying a fixed price to download music while majority of those above 45 years would not pay anything to download music.

When it came to daily usage, mobile phones were mostly used for listening to music in the morning and when commuting to work, messaging during the day and for social network in the evening combined with music in the late evening and bed time.

Globally, digital music, calendar, games and Instant Messaging enjoyed higher use on smartphones as compared to laptops while email, internet access, shopping and document editing enjoyed higher use on laptops. In Africa, mobile phones were the preferred device for all the above except for document editing .

Mobile money transfer in Kenya had taken some banking functionality such as bill payment , savings and bank withdrawals. Fifty-six per cent of Kenyans had received mobile money transfers while 45 per cent had sent money via the same. The total number of mobile money transfer users  stood at  9.7 million.

When it came to brand domination on mobile phones, Baidu leads in China, Yahoo in India, developed and emerging Asia, Google in Europe, Africa, Latin America& the Middle East while Facebook led in North America. Globally, music enjoyed heavy usage during working hours in India and early morning and late evening in China.

Globally, many people purchased new phones due to their old phones not working while the second reason to purchase a new phone in the global market was due to the need to get a new phone or one with latest features. In Africa, the picture was quite different with many people being forced to buy a new phone due to loss/theft of their old phones closely followed by the  to replace a phone that had stopped working.

The number of people accessing social networks on their phone stood at 12 per cent in 2010 compared to 9 per cent in Kenya. The key drivers for the adoption were attributed to improved user interfaces, demand for immediate access to information, unlimited data plans. Most old people used social media for keeping in touch while the youth used it for sharing of their life experiences. Both old and young people alike used social media for sharing moments though.