Executives gathered at the mobile industry’s annual event in Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, said the biggest boost to advertising was the introduction of smartphones, led by the iPhone, which had made surfing the Web an everyday occurrence.

Apple is also responsible for the popularity of another growth driver, the AppStore, which lets iPhone users download thousands of small software programs to personalize the way they play games, listen to music or find directions.

Advertisers have been able to place ads within those programs, or widgets.

But any operators hoping for a boost should likely not hold their breath, as analysts and executives believe the majority of advertising dollars will go to the publishers such as Google who already dominate the Web.

“While we all believe in mobile advertising, we have to recognize that it hasn’t taken off as quickly as expected,” said Vodafone’s Vittorio Colao, chief executive of the world’s largest mobile group by revenue.

The mobile industry has talked up advertising for many years, touting the personal and ubiquitous nature of the phone and its ability to offer ads based on location.

Anyone interested in a new car, for example, can in one step click through to ring the dealership.

Its supporters also point to the forecast that in a couple of years, mobile is expected to become the most common way to get onto the Internet, overtaking the computer.

But would-be promoters of mobile advertising have found that getting around the problem of cluttering up the phone’s small screen with display ads has been harder than expected.

And, a lack of common standards across the industry in how operators, handset makers and advertising agencies approach the service, and the little research showing its effectiveness, mean the industry is still some way from taking off.

There is no real consensus yet on the value of global advertising spent on mobile although Mike Wehrs, head of the trade group Mobile Marketing Association, said he believed it was at the million range and not yet billions.

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