Whopping increases in smart phone use and online devices

Kiwis put their devices to good use this festive season, hitting record highs for data usage across Vodafone’s networks in New Zealand.

Nationally Vodafone customers consumed 777 TB (Tera Bytes*) of data on Christmas Day and Boxing Day**, compared to 573 TB of data across New Zealand during the same two days last year, representing an astounding 36% increase year on year.

That’s equivalent to Kiwis streaming more than 863,000 hours of video in just two days.

The most popular time to stream content, video-call family and friends far and wide, or check out the latest online deals was between 8-10 pm on both Christmas and Boxing Day, with the peaks seeing 25.2 TB and 26.4 TB respectively of data used.

Vodafone New Zealand Technology Director, Tony Baird, said the high data use highlighted why Vodafone’s ongoing investment in a strong network is important, including upgrading coverage in New Zealand’s holiday hotspots.

“As well as launching 5G this year in the major centres, we’ve invested heavily into upgrading cell sites around the country to include 4G technology. Smartphones, tablets and laptops are at the heart of how Kiwis are stay in touch or seek entertainment, so our team has been hard at work to make sure Vodafone customers get a seamless online experience during the holiday season.”

Kiwis keen to send a short message of Christmas cheer (and possibly a note of thanks for their new Christmas goodies) sent just shy of one million (960,000) SMS or TXTs per hour at a peak time of 9am on Christmas Day, compared to 1.24 million SMS’s at last year’s same Christmas peak.

Overall a total of 12.66 million SMS or TXTS were sent on Christmas Day this year, compared to 15.57 million last year, a considerable 18.69% decrease.

“As people turn to online messaging services like WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook messenger to stay in touch with family and friends, we are seeing the amount of data consumed increase significantly while texting drops,” Baird explained.

“Some holiday destinations experience more than triple the usual data consumption as people head to the beach or favourite camping spot and want to share updates, surf the web or stream content.

“To cater for those people heading to the beach and wanting to stay connected over summer, we add additional network capacity in popular holiday destinations via Vodafone cell sites on wheels (COWs), which help to ensure faster speeds and better online connectivity.”

Some of the destinations with increased holiday capacity include the Coromandel, Mount Maunganui, Rotorua, Taupo, Hanmer Springs and Queenstown, just to name a few – as well as areas that host popular festivals including Northern Bass in Mangawhai, Rhythm & Vines in Gisborne, Bay Dreams Nelson and Gibbston Valley Concert near Queenstown.

“We know how important it is to stay connected in the digital age, so having a robust network year-round is vital for our customers,” Baird added.

© Scoop Media