Irish people are having less text
SMS volumes in Ireland are plummeting because of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, the latest quarterly report from telecoms watchdog ComReg reveal.
The total number of text messages sent by mobile users in Ireland was over 1.41bn in the second quarter, down by 16.5pc compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, data usage volumes continue to rise, increasing by 60.1pc year-on-year to reach 46,333 terabytes.
The quarterly report showed that fixed broadband subscriptions in Ireland grew annually by 3pc to reach 1.3m broadband subscriptions.
Counting in mobile and fixed broadband connections, ComReg estimates an 83pc broadband penetration rate, which is ahead of the EU average of 80pc.
The number of fixed voice subscriptions continues to decline, dropping 0.1pc in the last quarter to 1.47m.
Broadband speeds accelerating slowly
ComReg reported that fixed broadband speeds continued to increase, with over 75pc of all fixed broadband subscriptions equal to or greater than 10Mbps. It reported that over 60.1pc of all fixed broadband connections were in excess of 30Mbps.
Total voice traffic in Ireland declined year-on-year by 0.1pc.
Fixed voice on landlines fell by 6.2pc, while mobile voice calls were up 2.1pc on last year.
4G mobile network usage is on the rise by 16.5pc to 33.8pc of mobile users.
Overall data usage in Ireland was up by 10.8pc to 46 petabytes on the previous quarter, and up by more than 60.1pc on the second quarter of last year.
WhatsApp image via Shutterstock
