January 2005 has seen 2.5 billion texts sent across the UK, overtaking December’s total and makeing a new record, according to figures released this morning by the Mobile Data Association (MDM).
Person to person texts sent across the UK GSM network operators last month show an increase of 15.7% on the total sent during the same period in 2004, with 82 million messages being sent per day, resulting in the highest average figure to date.
January’s total received an added boost with a massive 133 million messages sent on New Years Day. February’s total also looks set to be high, with Valentines Day seeing an impressive number of texts sent, as the MDA recorded 92 million messages over the day, an increase of 18% on the same period in 2003 (see Valentines Send 92 Million Text Messages).
A study conducted in January, by market research firm ICM, found that 72% of women actually prefer to use text messaging rather than talking and that one third of over 75s with mobile phones are using text messaging on a regular basis.
This data confirms that the UK is on track to enjoy the strong growth in text messaging predicted by the MDA for 2005, estimating an annual total of 30 billion for the year (see Record Mobile Usage Set To Continue Next Year).
Related Links
