Study: Most cellphone users go online with their phone

Most adult cellphone owners use their phones to access the Internet, according to a Pew Center study released Tuesday.

Researchers found that 88 percent of U.S. adults own a cellphone of some kind, and that 55 percent of those cell owners use their phone to go online.

Most of them use their phones for convenience, but for some, their phone is the only way to access the Internet.

The study found that 31 percent of cellular Internet users mostly go online using their phone and not a computer or laptop.

Young adults and non-whites are especially likely to use their phones to access the Internet.

Nearly half (45 percent) of 18- to 29-year-old cell Internet users primarily use their phones to browse the Web. More than half (51 percent) of black cell Internet users do most of their online browsing on their phones, according to the study. That figure is double the proportion of whites (24 percent).

Many Web activities such as streaming music and videos requiring transmitting large amounts of data over the airwaves. 

Wireless carriers argue that they need access to more radio frequencies, known as spectrum, to meet the growing demands of mobile Internet users. Skeptics say the wireless companies should develop new technologies that are more spectrum-efficient. 

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