Is mobile phone use associated with spatial dimensions? A comparative study on mobile phone use in five European countries

The aim of this paper is to investigate if, and how, mobile phone use is associated with space. In particular, we considered three spatial dimensions, such as the size of the place of residence, the macro-region and the country. We drew the data from a telephone survey designed by us and sponsored by Telecom Italia. The survey was administered in 2009 and conducted on representative samples of the populations of five European countries (Italy, France, Spain, UK and Germany) (N = 7255). Several interesting results emerged. One of these is that there seems to be no longer an association between the volume of use of the mobile phone and the urban environment, but only with the sophistication of its use. On the contrary, the fixed telephone is more intensively used by urbanites. The macro-region assumes a new strength regarding the use of the mobile phone: some macro-regions reoriented themselves towards the mobile phone or the landline phone (like the south of Spain), while others are developing both, such as the south of Italy. The variable ‘culture’ confirms its strong role: Italy is the strongest user of the mobile phone, while the UK and Spain make the most advanced use of it. As to the fixed telephone, Italy shows the least intense use of it, while France the most intense