UK Sends More Texts Than Any Other EU Nation

A new report compiled by the London School of Economics and Carphone Warehouse has found that the UK sends more text messages than any other EU nation.

The survey, which investigates mobile phone use in Europe, also found that over a quarter of Britons under 25 say that they are addicted to their phones, whilst 20% of those aged between 25 and 35 agreed.

However, amongst the over 35s only one in 20 agreed that they could not live without their mobile.

The UK had the lowest penetration of mobiles among the countries surveyed though, with an average of 1.25 handsets per person.

Philip Gould, visiting professor at LSE, said: “Mobile phone fever grips the continent of Europe just as it grips Britain, but it does so in a variety of ways.

“For those who see Europe as a great homogenous steamroller, ironing out quirks and kinks of national character, this research proves them wrong.”

At the recent MediaTel Group seminar on the ‘Future of TV’, one of the subjects up for discussion was the lack of success of mobile TV, with several industry names expressing disappointment with the platform (see Disappointing Start For Mobile TV).

In July, a report from Gartner forecast that text messaging would be obsolete within five years, with users gradually moving from text to email (see Text Messaging To Be Obsolete Within Five Years).

London School of Economics: www.lse.ac.uk Carphone Warehouse: www.carphonewarehouse.com