A new study from ABI Research says about 16% of mobile data is diverted away from conventional mobile networks today – and that figure is expected to treble to 48% by 2015. However, the overall amount of data traffic will have grown by a factor of 30 by then, which means that 'offloaded' data will expand 100-fold.

Vodafone UK has launched the Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi, a WiFi-enabled mobile broadband device that allows up to five people to simultaneously connect to the internet over the Vodafone network. Similar devices are already available from Three UK and The Carphone Warehouse.

ABI Research says that data usage in Western Europe and North America from 2009 until 2015 is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% and 55% respectively.

However, this increase in data traffic is not being matched by a rise in data revenues for network operators. Mobile data revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of only 18% in North America, restricted in part by the popularity of 'unlimited' or 'fixed price' tariffs.

Last November, T-Mobile confirmed it had been working with the UK government's Information Commissioner’s Office following suspicions that employees had been selling customer data.

The Register now reports that former T-Mobile employee David Turley has pleaded guilty to 18 charges under section 55 of the Data Protection Act. He hasn't been sentenced yet.

Revenue from non-voice mobile phone services will increase from $200 billion in 2009 to $340 billion (£223 billion) in 2014, according to new research from Informa Telecoms & Media. It says emerging markets will be the key driver of these mobile data services.