Britons now send more than one billion SMSs a week — as many as were sent in the whole of 1999, figures out on Monday showed.
People in Britain sent 4 825-billion SMSs during September 2007, an increase of 25% on September last year, according to the Mobile Data Association (MDA).
That adds up to 4 000 SMSs a second, or 70 per person each month.
The MDA, an industry group that promotes the use of cellphone data, put the rise in SMSing down to new deals from phone companies and the more personal nature of sending an SMS.
Meanwhile, there has been a “significant increase” in businesses communicating with their customers via SMS, the MDA said.
The group revised its forecast for the total number of SMSs sent in 2007 from 48-billion to 52-billion following the sharp increase in September. Last year, 41,8-billion SMSs were sent in Britain.
“The United Kingdom text volumes show no real signs of abating,” said MDA chairperson Mike Short, adding that Britain is among the top six countries in the world for SMSing. “While the trend towards operators offering ‘all-you-can-eat’ tariffs increases, this will act as a catalyst for consumers’ passion for all things mobile.” — AFP