Adoption of 4G mobile phones has nearly quadrupled since early 2011, going from 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011 to 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2012, Nielsen Online says.
Consumers under 34 are most likely to have already adopted 4G and 63 percent of teens are likely to consider switching to 4G within the next year (of course, that will require parental approval, so you might approach that particular finding with circumspection).
Also, 55 percent of respondents are unable to identify any forms of 4G technology, so it is not as though most people actually understand the value proposition.
Also, as you would expect, consumers who value "speed" are early adopters. The research also found that 4G capability is considerably more important for those purchasing a data card or mobile hotspot than either a smartphone or tablet.
That makes sense. Smart phones don't show the obvious benefits of "faster" connections as much as PC or notebook experiences tend to do.
But there is another interesting finding: current 4G users are five times more likely to consider 4G as a replacement for their home broadband connection, compared to users who have only 3G connections.