14 DAY TRIAL // A recently published report from the Mobile Data Association (MDA) shows that the appetite for text messaging is growing higher among mobile phone users in the UK. According to the report, handset users in the country sent during the last year an average of 265 million text messages each day, along with around 1.6 million picture messages.
The figures delivered by the report are based on statistics provided by each of the UK’s Mobile Network Operators, MDA states, adding that the report was focused both on text and picture and video messages for the past year. The total number of text messages sent in 2009 was of 96.8 billion, while the number of picture messages sent during the year was of more than 600 million.
“These statistics show that even with new social media forms of messaging such as Twitter and Facebook, people are using SMS as a social messaging tool because of its simplicity and ubiquity. There remains a significant and still developing role for text messaging. In a seemingly relentless tide of status updates, tweets and pokes, the UK population’s love affair with mobile messaging for instant, on-the-go communication continues to deepen,” stated Steve Reynolds, MDA Chairman.
The 96.8 billion text messages sent during 2009 show a growing trend when compared to the results registered during the previous two years. Thus, in 2008, a total number of 78.9 billion texts were sent in the UK, while in 2007, their number rose to 56.9 billion. The same trend can be seen when picture messages are involved, with 601 million MMS sent in 2009, up from 553 million in 2008 and from 449 million sent in 2007. The growth in text messages sent in 2009 when compared with 2008 was of 23 percent, while the rise in MMS was of 9 percent year on year.
“New generation touchscreen handsets and the bundling of SMS messages into many tariffs has made texting easier, and seen its role develop. Now it is not only a convenient medium for a quick chat with friends, but also a way of participating in television voting and raising funds for needy charities. When a powerful call to action is given, the population of the UK often turn first towards their mobile phones,” Rob Bamforth, principal analyst at Quocirca, said.