Exponential growth for African mobile web - report

Published earlier this week at www.opera.com/mobile_report, this September 2008 study focuses on the African continent, where web browsing on the mobile phone far exceeds traditional desktop-computer surfing. Overall, Africa experienced a usage surge of 180% over the past nine months.

"Month after month we have witnessed our usage numbers in Africa skyrocket," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "This tells us that change is underway, and more people now have the ability to access the Internet from locations that were previously unthinkable.

"Opera Mini has a global entourage of 19 million strong. These people accessed 4.5 billion Web pages in September alone. It's exciting to see a rise in Opera Mini use in countries like Egypt, where accessing sites such as Facebook and Google from their mobile phone can now be a part of Egyptians' daily lives."

Fast facts

• The use of Opera Mini in Africa increased by 180% from January 2008 - September 2008
  
• Globally, Opera Mini was used by 19 million people in September 2008, a 341% increase from September 2007
  
• Opera Mini users accessed 4.5 billion pages in September 2008, a 420% increase from September 2007
  
• In September, Opera Mini's 19 million users generated more than 65.2 million MB of data for operators worldwide
  
• Egypt is now the 10nth largest user of Opera Mini in the world

Opera also reports that, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Africa's mobile industry is expanding at nearly double the global rate. Personal computer penetration remains low across the continent, which results in an increasing number of Africans turning to their mobile phones to get online.