Mobile Web Use in the US Surges Ahead, Increasing Three Fold over the Last Year

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bango today published statistics which confirm that the United States is at the forefront of mobile web growth with a three fold increase in usage over the last year, taking it to second position behind the UK. The increasing popularity of mobile search as a way of finding new content and services is fueling this rapid rise in mobile web usage.

By working as a “global exchange” for the mobile web, Bango is able to provide a unique insight into where mobile users are coming from and what handsets they are using. The Bango platform detects users from more than 190 countries accessing the mobile web.

According to Bango data, the top five countries accessing the mobile web via Bango* in April 2007 are the UK at 27%, the US at 21%, South Africa at 11%, India at 9% and Indonesia at 3%.

In the first quarter of 2007 the top handset was the Sanyo Katana SCP 6600. The fact that the Sanyo Katana is only available in the United States reflects the rapid growth in mobile surfing by US mobile users. Other popular handsets included the Motorola V360, the Sony Ericsson K750i and the Samsung A900.

“We see that wherever flat-rate data charges are pervasive in a country then there’s much more web browsing,” said Anil Malhotra, SVP of Marketing at Bango. “We expect to see more competitively priced flat-rate data plans in the US which will stimulate further web browsing.”

Bango also has detected a rapid increase in the number of mobile surfers coming from India. Now 9% of all accesses to mobile websites are from India, up from 4% a year ago. India, with a population of just over 1,000 million and lack of an established fixed phone line network, relies on mobile phones to stay in touch. Here, mobile web usage is set to exceed European levels within the next few years.

“What we’re seeing through these numbers is a transformation of the internet from something connected to a desktop to something mobile,” said Malhotra. “With the advent of mobile search that transformation is happening on a truly global scale.”

As a result, more businesses now are launching a ‘mobile web’ presence so they can engage directly with their consumers. Through a common integration point, Bango makes it easy for them to drive traffic to a mobile website, understand who the visitors are, track marketing campaigns and collect payment for digital content world-wide.

About Bango

Bango delivers the technology that makes the mobile web simple for everyone. Bango created the world's first global exchange for the mobile web. By providing a common integration point for brands, businesses and individuals, Bango removes the complexities that make the mobile web difficult to exploit.

Through Bango's global exchange, content providers see all users as a unified global community. Users easily discover and access the widest range of content and the world's leading mobile operator's partner with Bango to give their subscribers the widest choice. Billing providers, search engines and advertisers are automatically connected to content providers in Bango's global exchange.

Bango has offices in USA, UK, Spain and Germany and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (AIM:BGO). Learn more at www.bango.com.

* Bango identifies users by their country and network of origin. The ranking is produced by measuring the number of user visits to mobile websites from each country.