Mobile users don't want ads - even if it means cheaper bills

It looks like more mobile users than ever are seeing ads on their phones – according to some new research from Nielsen Mobile, 23 percent of US consumers have feasted their eyes on advertising in the previous month.

What’s more interesting though is that people are actually interacting with all this publicity bumf: half of all data users who recall seeing mobile advertising in the previous 30 days say they responded to a mobile ad in some way, Nielsen said. The most popular way of responding was sending a text message, at 26 percent of users, while 9 percent of ad-viewers also used click to call functionality.

Perhaps the most surprising nugget to come out of the survey is that only 32 percent of users said they’d accept ads in return for lowering their bill and 13 percent said they’d take the ads if it meant improved content. That’s unexpected – I would have thought that people’s bargain hunting instincts would win out – perhaps the mobile is sacred after all.