Britons send 1bn text messages every week

Figures revealed by the Mobile Data Association show that Britons sent 4,825 billion texts in the month of September alone. This is in comparison to the 1 billion that were sent in all twelve months of 1999 combined.

The research suggests that the average person sends around 70 messages per month with Briton’s sending 4,000 messages a second.

Following these figures the MDA, sensing that the deluge of texts shows no signs of abating, has updated their forecast for this years estimated total from 42-48 billion to 52 billion texts.

The MDA said there were many reasons for the increase in messages being sent (figures are up 25% from last year in case all the other numbers went over your head), with updates from news stations, lotto numbers, and information on sporting events helping to fuel the fire.

Mike Short, Head of the MDA said that companies were also beginning to rely on SMS more and more with regard to ensuring that all employees were notified of urgent notices as soon as possible as companies allegedly find text messages more reliable than emails. Businesses also use text message to maintain relationships with customers regarding deliveries, house calls and appointments with the same being said for health clinics.

The MDAs figures put the UK in the top six countries sending text messages.