Kiwis’ data use reveals connected Christmas

Kiwis have once again put their mobile devices through their paces this festive season, notching up another record for data usage across Vodafone’s networks.

Nationally Kiwis consumed 411 TB* (Tera Bytes) of data on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, compared to 238 TB of data across the country during the same period last year, a staggering 73% increase.

That’s equivalent to Kiwis streaming 182,666 hours of video in just two days.

The most popular times to steal away to catch up on favourite shows or check out the latest online content was between 9-10pm on both Christmas and Boxing days, with data traffic hitting peak use levels of 12.7TB and 14.08 TB respectively.

And on a technology level, 4G data volume increased by a massive 125.4% year on year.

Vodafone Technology Director Tony Baird said the high use showed exactly why the investment in New Zealand’s holiday hotspots in the lead-up to Christmas was so important.

“We invested heavily, spending a million dollars upgrading sites from 3G to 4G and adding additional capacity like our cell sites on wheels (COWS), to bring faster speeds to support the influx of holiday makers.

“Some of these areas may go to triple the usual data consumption in a single day as people flock to the beach or favourite picnic spot when there’s great weather. We know how important it is to stay connected with family and friends, and that’s why having a robust network like Vodafone is vital,” Tony said.

Kiwis keen to send a short message of Christmas cheer (and possibly a shout out for the new socks and undies) also sent nearly 1.27 million SMS or TXTs per hour at a peak time of 9am on Christmas Day, compared to 1.18 million SMS’s at last year’s Christmas peak.

Overall a total of 16.8 million SMS or TXTS were sent on Christmas day this year, compared to 16 million last year, a 5% increase.

“Smartphones, tablets and laptops are at the heart of how Kiwis are staying in touch now. Our technology team have been hard at work to make sure they get the same seamless experience on our network at holiday destinations, as they would at home,” Tony added.

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