Wireless Internet Use Will Pass Fixed-Line Web by 2015, IDC Says

More Americans will surf the Web from mobile phones and other wireless devices than from desktop computers and other fixed-line devices by 2015, according to a report from market researcher IDC.

Wireless Internet access is set to grow by 17 percent annually through 2015 as fixed-line connections will stagnate and then slowly decline over that period, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company predicted.

As companies such as Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) pack more features into smartphones and tablets, consumers are using the devices to browse the Web, send e-mails and watch videos and spending less time typing on larger PCs. Smartphone sales climbed 74 percent worldwide in the second quarter from a year earlier, paced by demand for the iPhone and devices based on Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android software, according to Gartner Inc..

The number of Internet users worldwide, from both wireless and fixed-line devices, will climb to 2.7 billion in 2015 from 2 billion last year, IDC predicts. Online advertising will nearly double to $138 billion in 2015 from $70 billion last year, the firm said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net