Texting More Popular Than Voice Calls in the USA
The Nielsen Company says that the typical U.S. mobile subscriber now sends and receives more SMS text messages than they do mobile telephone calls.
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Number of Monthly Calls vs. Text Messages
Wireless Subscribers by Age
As of Q2 2008, a typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends or receives 357 text messages per month, compared to placing or receiving 204 phone calls. Though the number of calls has remained relatively steady, the number of text messages is up 450% from just two years prior. Q2 2008 was the second consecutive quarter in which the average number of text messages sent was significantly higher than the average number of phone calls placed.
The insights come from Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, which directly measures billing activity through an opt-in panel of more than 50,000 personally liable, postpaid U.S. mobile lines across the top four carriers. Through the billing data, Nielsen reports on everything from how many text messages subscribers send to what games and ringtones they download.
In addition to showing the trend of texts compared to calls, NielsenÃ's research shows that the typical U.S. teen mobile subscriber (ages 13-17) now sends or receives 1,742 text messages per month (compared to making or receiving 231 mobile phone calls).
Posted to the site on 25th September 2008
