U.S. to top mobile Internet use rankings?

The U.K. has always come top of mobile Internet use rankings, thanks to the wide availability of mobile phone packages that have been around for a number of years. But, mobile analytics and mobile Internet access provider, Bango, believe that the long British reign could soon be over.

by Helen Leggatt

According to Bango’s latest data for July 2008, the U.K. is still top of the pile when it comes to accessing the Internet from mobile phones.

U.K. – 19.35%
U.S. -18.88%
India - 10.82%
South Africa - 8.82%
Indonesia - 4.08%

But for how long? The U.S., says Bango, is about to overtake the U.K. with a predicted 23% for August 2008 versus around 20% forecast for the U.K.

“All you can eat” dataplans and the iPhone are cited as the main drivers of increased mobile Internet use in the U.S., said Bango’s VP of Marketing, Sarah Keefe, in an interview with Manoj Jasra of Web Analytics World. That, plus more data friendly devices and faster 3G networks, should see the U.S. in pole position from September onwards.

Marketers should anticipate, and prepare for, an increased use of the mobile Internet. Figures from Forrester Research, reported in the Wall Street Journal, showed the number of enquiries from service providers and businesses about the mobile Internet rose 40% last year.

Can consumers access your business website via the mobile Internet? Are you developing email marketing campaigns that can be viewed on mobile devices? If not, perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at the opportunities you may be missing if you’re not mobile Internet ready.