Record numbers of people in New Zealand are tapping out holiday greetings, sending holiday text messages soaring to record rates. New Zealand’s communications company, Telecom indicated that 23 million text messages were sent via SMS service last Christmas. Vodafone indicated a similar volume of SMS messages with nearly one million being sent per hour.
The added ability to send greetings to loved ones using text messages via SMS from PCs, has added to the popular method of sending seasonal greetings to loved ones, even those overseas. As people use SMS computer-based services and send SMS online messages, the message volumes have increased up by up to six times, particularly as friends and family text one another greetings for the New Year. In fact, Vodafone spokespersons indicated that although Christmas is a particularly heavy texting time, the volumes double on New Year’s Eve, which puts a strain on the network. In addition, the popular mass SMS to multiple family members and friends on cell phones with group features means it is nearly impossible to calculate or predict the number of texts that will be sent this New Year.
The huge challenge for SMS gateway networks to handle the rush of text messages can occasionally mean that some messages are not received. The SMS API, however, is designed to deliver text messages for up to three days after the Send button is pressed, ensuring that even if late, the text messages will get through.
