London is still the world's wi-fi hotspot
Wi-fi usage in London surged by 156 per cent last year, as the capital retained its position as the world's leading wireless hotspot in iPass' annual chart.
The yearly wi-fi Hotspot Index shows that the use of wireless connections by businesses almost doubled during the second half of 2007, as 3G technology proliferated.
Singapore and Tokyo took second and third place respectively in the index, while the European market grew more than twice as fast as that in the US.
Wi-fi usage in Europe was up 142 per cent over the course of last year, compared to 61 per cent in America.
Researchers were surprised to find that 62 per cent of mobile internet users have to fall back on slower 2.5G technology at some point each month.
A spokesperson for iPass said that business users were likely to continue relying on a combination of technologies to provide mobile internet access.
"We expect both wi-fi hotspots and 3G to continue to grow as enterprises roll out a complete toolkit to their mobile workers," he said.
London Heathrow is now the world's fourth most popular airport in terms of wireless usage, iPass found, while almost half of all wi-fi hotspots are found in airports.
Hotels account for a third of global wi-fi usage, after growth of 146 per cent, though access at railway stations and ferries boomed by 238 per cent.
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