According to Bango data, the top five countries accessing the mobile web via Bango in July 2008 were the UK at 19.35%, the US at 18.88%, India at 10.82%, South Africa at 8.82% and Indonesia at 4.08%. Bango identifies users by country and network of origin. The ranking is produced by measuring the number of user visits to mobile websites from each country.
Adam Kerr, VP of Bango North America, commented: "The US share of the browsing market has grown as an increasing number of phones come with bigger screens and service contracts that include unlimited internet access. We fully expect the US will overtake the UK in this ranking as early as this month."
As the mobile web grows in the US, so does interest from business. Forrester Research told the Wall Street Journal last month, for example, that the number of inquiries it received from businesses and service providers wanting to talk about the mobile web jumped 40% last year.
"We predicted 2008 would be a pivotal year for the mobile web in the US, and our data is backing that up. Clearly the rate of growth and acceleration is getting faster in the US and around the world," continued Kerr.