West African mobile internet use has reached penetration levels almost equal to that of fixed line usage for the first time, says mobile advertising network Twinpine.

The firm and Kenya-based iHub Research have unveiled the results of their study called ‘An analysis of Mobile Technology in West Africa: The Case Of Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire'.

The study says that mobile subscriptions in all three countries have more than doubled between 2007 and 2011, with the combined total now standing at over 130 million.

The report has further added that in Nigeria internet usage stands at 28% of fixed line subscriptions as compared to 26% of mobile subscriptions. In Ghana, internet subscriptions are at 10% of all fixed line users while internet subscriptions among mobile users stands at 9%, says the report.

The number of mobile subscribers in parts of West Africa, though, outnumber fixed line users, as Nigeria, for example, only has an estimated 500,000 lines - a number that is inadequate for its 150 million population.

As a result of the lack of fixed line internet infrastructure in the region, Twinpine and iHub say that mobile internet is changing this trend by bringing internet to growing numbers of people who buy devices such as smartphones.

“Poor fixed line infrastructure in Africa has acted as a barrier to internet adoption for the majority of people, and is the reason for limited broadband adoption across the continent,” says Elo Umeh, chief executive of Twinpine and co-chair of the Mobile Marketing Association, West Africa.

“However the exponential growth of the mobile market in Africa is playing a critical role in closing the digital divide by giving the African population widespread access to a rich variety of affordable mobile technologies.

“As the research shows, mobile internet is set to quickly become the primary method of going online,” he added.