October 2016 was a historic month for smartphone and tablet users, according to independent web analytics company StatCounter, which found that for the first time ever, mobile traffic exceeded desktop internet consumption all in all worldwide.

Seeing as how PC sales have plummeted in recent years, with Wi-Fi and cellular-enabled intelligent mobile devices continuously rising, albeit at a slower pace in the past few quarters, you could say this transition was a long time coming.

Still, StatCounter measured a substantial popularity gap of more than 14 percent between desktop and mobile platforms just last November, and it’s a little shocking to report on-the-go internet usage escalated from under 43 to 51.3 percentage points in the meantime, while computers and laptops only accounted for 48.7 percent of global web surfing this past month, down nearly 10 points since late 2015.

You should keep in mind that technically smartphones haven’t surpassed desktops by themselves yet, combining with tablets for the 51.3 percent share, although “small businesses, sole traders and professionals” still need to deem this trend a major “wake up call to make sure that their websites are mobile friendly.”

Mobile internet usage has been constantly surging essentially everywhere, but in developed, steady PC markets like the US, UK or Europe in general, desktop traffic continues to lead the charts. Meanwhile, India, as well as Asia and Africa on the whole, are predictably spearheading the new mobile revolution of the digital world.

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