The US has long lagged behind Europe in 3G adoption for a variety of reasons including lack of 3G coverage.  That apparently has changed according to comScore with the US showing a whopping 80% growth of 3G adoption over the past year.  According to the survey 28.4 percent of all mobile subscribers in the US now have 3G compared to 28.3 percent of those in Western Europe. 

“For years, the American mobile industry has aspired to the level of sophistication of the European market,” observed Mark Donovan, senior vice president and senior analyst, comScore. “Today, Americans have finally caught up with Europeans in adoption of 3G.  The advancements in 3G network technology and the introduction of sleek devices into the U.S. market have paid off as adoption of mobile media continues to grow at a rapid pace.”

The five countries in Western Europe used in the comparison are Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK which combined have 63.4 million 3G subscribers, a 46.6% increase over the past year compared to 64.2 million 3G subscribers in the US.  It looks like 3G is here to stay and it’s easy to see why businesses in the US are chomping at the bit to get at all these new subscribers.