London takes global Wi-Fi crown

Usage increased 156 per cent in second half of 2007

London is officially a world leader when it comes to Wi-Fi usage, with the average user spending an impressive 72 minutes online per session.

According to the iPass Wi-Fi Hotspot Index report, which studied Wi-Fi use for the second half of 2007, Londoners clocked up nearly three times as many sessions as the world's number two city Singapore.

The last six months of 2007 saw Londoners engaging in almost 30,000 Wi-Fi sessions, a leap in growth of more than 150 per cent on the same period in 2006.

The report pointed to a significant growth in business usage across the UK, with airports accounting for almost half of all business sessions. Heathrow alone hosted over 41,000 sessions, making it the fourth busiest Wi-Fi airport in the world.

The availability of Wi-Fi services on trains is also spurring growth. National Express recently reported a trebling of usage since introducing free Wi-Fi on the UK's East Coast Main Line.

However, in terms of overall usage, the US remains the most popular Wi-Fi region, despite growth of 60 per cent compared to 121 per cent in the UK.

The top 10 Wi-Fi nations are:

1. US
2. UK
3. Germany
4. Switzerland
5. The Netherlands
6. France
7. Japan
8. Australia
9. Belgium
10. Brazil