theregoesdave

While access to fixed Internet and broadband are still at 23 percent of the World’s people, fully 60 percent of the globe uses a mobile phone. These numbers highlight the importance of mobile Web applications that will introduce these callers to the Web via their mobile device.

The mobile Web is still in its infancy compared to the tools available on the Internet to access financial institutions, education and government services. Improving access to these services on mobile devices will help reach the greatest possible number of the people that need them- before they will ever have Internet access.

One such example of these efforts are in Bill Gates’ investment in bringing mobile banking services to developing nations. The GSM Association plans to roll out mobile banking access to 20 million people without access to a financial institutions in the next four years.

It’s tough for Americans to imagine their mobile as the first introduction to the Internet because of widespread access to broadband and fixed line Internet services. This view brings into focus the need to see the mobile Web interface as not merely an extension of a desktop Web presence, but as a full-featured way to access the same content in a different medium.

Via the AP

• AT&T and Verizon fight Net Neutrality to protect mobile minutes model
• Americans Prefer Texting to Talking: Is Text Sex to Blame?
• Demand for mobile web access continues to grow
• T-Mobile Total Internet Now $19.99
• Will Video Be The Mobile Web Trend Of The Year?