Opera Software has determined that web browsing on mobile phones exceeds traditional desktop-computer surfing in Africa.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Africa's mobile industry is expanding at nearly double the global rate. However, personal computer use remains low, which results in an increasing number of Africans choosing mobile devices to access the internet. Indeed, Opera reported that the use of its mini browser in Africa had surged over 180 per cent over the past nine months.

"Month after month we have witnessed our usage numbers in Africa skyrocket," explained Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of 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. 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."

It should be noted that mobile phone use is also poised to overtake land-lines in a number of other countries. As IT Examiner previously reported, the Japanese are quickly abandoning their fixed lines for mobile devices. The total talk time on mobile phones in Japan was apparently 1.899 billion hours, a 4.5 per cent increase from the previous year. Calls made on fixed-line phones declined to a total 1.835 billion hours, 11 per cent down from fiscal 2006.

Mobile phone subscriptions at the end of fiscal 2007 stood at 102.72 million, a 6.2 per cent increase on last year. The number of fixed-line phone subscriptions was 51.23 million, approximately half the figure for mobile phones, marking a 7.1 per cent drop.  X

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