Over the course of the next five years, revenues should go up even further, according to Stuart Carlaw, a vice-president at the firm.

He stated: "The growing popularity of internet-capable handsets will drive the increasing adoption of mobile data among consumers."

This year should see an improvement in mobile CAPEX because of a variety of factors, ABI Research has noted, including the development of LTE.

Around 172.4 million smartphone units were sold across the globe last year, Gartner recently revealed.

According to the organisation's research director Carolina Milanesi, this marked a yearly rise of 23.8 per cent.

"Traffic jams on the way to the wireless internet have focused new attention on the typically unglamorous networks behind sexy devices such as the iPhone," Mr Lawson stated.

Meanwhile, in his IDG piece, the writer has also included the view of ABI Research's Bhavya Khanna, an analyst who pointed out that 2009 saw a surge in people's use of mobile data services.

In Europe alone, the European Interactive Advertising Association recently claimed that, during an average week, 71 million consumers are making use of mobile internet services.

The firm's Mediascope Europe study looked at a number of areas concerning the mobile internet.

As many as 21 per cent of those aged between 25 and 34 are currently adopting mobile devices to surf the web, the EIAA's figures have revealed.

The body's executive director Alison Fennah believes that last year saw major developments in people's use of the internet.

"Better devices and connectivity as well as enhanced consumer motivation all started coming together in 2009 to improve and extend the overall online experience," she commented.

In total, 15 European markets were covered by the Mediascope Europe research published by the EIAA.

Smartphones have had a big influence on people's mobile data consumption, Doug Webster, Cisco's senior director for service provider marketing, recently highlighted.

"While the arrival of genuine mobile broadband capability is a cause for celebration, some carriers have been caught short by the sheer scale of uptake," he commented.

However, Mr Hibberd also used his telecoms.com piece to point out that many consumers are unwilling to put up with mobile network problems and may switch to a different operator if they believe they can get a better service elsewhere.

O2 is one network operator that is taking steps to try and match customer demand for mobile data services.

Its chief technology officer Derek McManus recently highlighted the network investment that the firm is making.