Thais are amongst the most avid users of mobile Internet in Southeast Asia (SEA), with this trend set to continue as more than half of Thai Internet users intend to access the Internet via a mobile phone in the next 12 months, according to a report released today by global insights and measurement company, Nielsen.The report, a pre-release of data from Nielsen's inaugural Southeast Asia Digital Consumer Report* which will be available on September 30, found 56 per cent of online Thais intend to access the internet via a mobile phone in the next 12 months, and 29 per cent intend to do so via another type of Internet-capable handheld device.

"Thailand is one of the very few countries that still has no commercial 3G network," notes Aaron Cross, managing director of Nielsen Consumer division in Thailand. "However, thanks largely to the social media momentum, mobile technology is evolving at a rapid pace and the advent of Smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry is making it easier for consumers to access the Internet anywhere, anytime. Thai people's willingness to embrace new technology, despite the lack of availability of high speed mobile data services, shows real potential in this space."

Whilst mobile Internet usage in Thailand is surging, the country has one of the lowest levels of overall Internet penetration in SEA. Less than one third of Thailand's population aged 15+ (31 per cent) use the Internet, seven percentage points lower than the SEA regional average of 38 percent and 36 points lower than Singapore (67 per cent), which had the highest level of internet penetration across the region. Internet penetration in Thailand is lowest amongst those aged 50+ where only seven percent of consumers are online.

Furthermore, whilst Thailand exhibits the highest frequency across the SEA region for being online 'several times per week', it lags behind Singapore (80 per cent) and Malaysia (53 per cent) for 'daily' Internet use, with only 36 percent of regular consumers online, accessing the internet on a daily basis.

"The low Internet penetration levels in Thailand and the infrequent rate with which consumers are accessing the Internet, reinforce that digital media has significant growth opportunities in Thailand," states Cross.