The digital divide is steadily being bridged by cell phones.   According to Rick Joubert, founding chairman of the South African Mobile Marketing Association, South Africa has more than 10 million unique mobile Internet users per month, compared to just over 5 million unique desktop Internet users per month.  It is interesting to note that less than 30% of mobile Internet users have easy access to desktop Internet.

The reason for mobile Internet’s popularity is predominantly its accessibility and affordability.  Mobile web browsers, such as Opera Mini, have made it possible for users to view a compressed version of websites on their cell phones, and most new handsets are sold with Opera Mini preloaded.  This means faster Internet access and less data usage for mobile users, saving users time and money.

MXit reports over 14 million registered users and Vodacom’s Please Call Me messages reach on average 23 million unique South African users across all cellular networks on a monthly basis (source:  RickJoubert.com).  More and more cell phones with touch screens are being introduced, and an increasing number of handsets come standard with dedicated Internet push buttons.  Most South Africans access social network websites like Facebook.com via mobile Internet, as they are either blocked from social networking at work, or don’t have Internet access at home.

From April 2008 until April 2009, the number of South African mobile page views increased by 173.2%, and the number of unique mobile Internet users grew by 68.9%, according to Opera.com.

The top ten mobile websites accessed by South Africans are (April 2009):

1.    facebook.com
2.    google.com
3.    wikipedia.org
4.    yahoo.com
5.    my.opera.com
6.    zamob.com
7.    gmail.com
8.    gamejump.com
9.    waptrick.com
10.    peperonity.com

*Measured by the number of unique users

Source:  Opera.com

It was announced recently that cellular providers will cut prices in the near future and consumers will effectively pay ‘cost price’ for cellular services, which includes Internet usage. What does this mean for businesses?  Most importantly, they will need to ensure that their websites are compatible with mobile browsers and easy to navigate with a cell phone.  Whilst mobile website usability still requires much development, South African mobile Internet browsing is going to continue to grow, especially if the proposed price cuts take effect.