Bango this week published statistics that confirm that the United States is at the forefront of a mobile web growth with a three-fold increase in usage over the last year. This rapid rise, taking the US to second position behind the UK, is being fuelled by the increasing popularity of mobile search as a way of finding new content and services.
The top five countries accessing the mobile web via Bango* in April 2007 were the UK at 27%, the US at 21%, South Africa at 11%, India at 9% and Indonesia at 3%. In total, Bango detects mobile web users from over 190 countries. The Bango population cannot be regarded as a representative sample. Nevertheless it is surely an indicator of what is happening in this sector.
In addition to growth in the US, Bango’s data shows that 9% of all accesses to mobile websites now come from India, up from 4% a year ago. India, with a population of just over 1.1 billion and lack of an established fixed phone line network, relies on mobile phones to stay in touch. Here, mobile phone usage is set to exceed European levels within the next few years. Again it is probable that Bango’s figures under-represent the growth of the mobile Web in the Far East.
From its data, Bango suggests that search fuels the appetite for mobile Web surfing. This is undoubtedly true currently. However it is an increasingly mobile world. As the technology improves the mobile experience, it seems likely that other applications such as mobile TV will drive further growth.
Related: 100 Million Websites – How Many To Go?
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