The number of users of mobile broadband connections is going to surge past those using traditional fixed-rate lines, according to a new survey.

In the study, mobileSQUARED discovered that by 2011, there will be more than 36 million 3G mobile devices in the UK and a further 6.5 million dongles and embedded modems.

Nick Lane, the author of the report and chief analyst at mobileSQUARED, said: "Mobile will become the primary access point for brands and businesses communicating with their consumers within two years.

"Mobile is always on, and the average user carries their device for an average of 16 hours a day."

He added that if small businesses in IT are not using such mobile systems, they ought to learn quickly as they will become the preferred method in the coming months.

It adds to comments made earlier this autumn by Hans Vestberg, the chief executive officer of Sony Ericsson, who asserted that by 2015, there will be seven billion mobile subscribers across the world by 2015 - jumping to 50 billion by 2020.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.