Network operator 3 Mobile has revealed its customers consume 40 per cent of all mobile broadband data used in the UK every day.

Approximately 137 terabytes of data pass across the service provider's network on a daily basis, roughly equivalent to the downloading of 36 million iTunes tracks.

Facebook also accounts for a substantial amount of the company's mobile broadband traffic, with customers viewing 1.24 billion pages on the social network every month.

Within the boundaries of the M25 alone, the volume of data consumed in October was enough to download 360 million songs on iTunes, or around 36 million albums. If these were real CDs, they could be laid down side by side and cover a distance of 3,000 miles.

The announcement comes just a matter of weeks after the service provider revealed 97 per cent of all traffic on its network comes from data consumption, while usage rose by 427 per cent between July 2010 and this September.

"It's our aim to make sure our customers have access to all the internet they'll ever need," commented Phil Sheppard, director of network strategy at 3 Mobile.

The company, which offers truly unlimited mobile data plans, recently gave its backing to a report from the Communications Ombudsman that warned some consumers risk receiving unexpectedly high bills by exceeding their monthly data allowance.

According to the Ombudsman, service providers should be "very clear" about any limitations that are in place on customers' price plans in order to reduce the chances of people spending huge amounts on mobile broadband usage.

"This is an emerging problem which we think could cause real consumer detriment - we want mobile phone companies to take action before it becomes more prevalent," the organisation declared.

Head of corporate affairs at 3 Mobile Guy Middleton added most 'unlimited' packages that are currently on the market "don't deserve the name".

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