The latest Ofcom figures are here, and they show 17% of UK households access online service using mobile broadband and, significantly, 7% of people use mobile broadband as their only way of getting online. Ofcom make it clear their report looks at people using dongles and datacards, rather than smartphones.
The research found that the average download speed achieved by consumers was 1.5Mbit/s, this compares with the average fixed broadband speed of 6.2Mbit/s. However, in good 3G coverage areas, Ofcom found that average mobile broadband speeds were 2.1Mbit/s.