February's text messaging total reached 2.7 billion messages, according to figures released today by the Mobile Data Association (MDA). Person-to-person texts sent across the UK GSM network operators last month show an increase of 26% on the total sent during the same period in 2005.
February's figure equates to an average of 99 million messages being sent per day in the UK, with a peak on Valentines Day, when 120 million were sent. Oh well, its cheaper than flowers. By contrast, says the MDA, the Post Office delivered an estimated 10 million Valentines Day cards.
The MDA is encouraging consumers to turn to text for Mothers Day, and has even come up with some sample poems to help them to do so. This is an initiative to be applauded, as any sort of poem, no matter how cheesy, would doubtless do down better with most mums than the text they are used to receiving from their teenage offspring, the one that reads: DOWN THE PUB. CAN U PICK ME UP IN 10?