• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, April 29, 2009

This morning at the OMMA Mobile, Maria Mandel, Executive Director of Digital Innovation at OgilvyInteractive, is trying to answer the one question on everyone’s mind: Is this, finally, ‘The Year’ for mobile. The answer? Yes and no.

Finally, said Mandel, “Mobile marketing has started to develop.” Still, as one might expect, “It’s just the beginning.”

Nationally, the mobile web has reached about 20% consumer penetration, and, as Mandel notes, it wasn’t until the ‘traditional’ web reached about 30% consumer that advertisers really began to engage with the medium.

What key factor is fundamentally transforming / ushering in the age of the mobile Web? Just like the “traditional” web, broadband.

“Higher speeds have created this always on … device that people spend more time on,” said Mandel.