Providers see record data usage at the turn of the year; drop SMS and phone

The Dutch telecom providers have released data about the use of the mobile network during the past turn of the year. The mobile network was used en masse to transmit New Year’s greetings. KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone all saw a (considerable) increase.

Mobile network was well used

Last year we were able to celebrate the turn of the year without the restrictions of a lockdown, as was the case last year. Many already noticed this with the fireworks that were put into the air again this year for a record amount of 110 million euros, providers have also noticed this. The mobile network was massively used for best wishes, according to data provided by the providers.

KPN

First of all KPN, they report that they processed a record amount of 453 terabytes of mobile data in the night of December 31, 2022 to January 1, 2023. These are figures between 22:00 in the evening and 04:00 in the morning. Last year KPN processed 343 terabytes of data. This number is also 60 percent higher than at the turn of the year in 2014. The peak load on the mobile network was between 0:05 and 0:10 am.

Compared to last year, a decrease was measured in the number of text messages sent and the number of minutes that were called. This amounted to 1.2 million text messages (1.4 million last year) and 3.9 million telephone calls (4.1 million last year). Due to last year’s lockdown, the fixed network was used more often for telephone calls at the time, which was not observed this year. KPN shares the graph below about mobile phone use during the turn of the year.

T Mobile

T-Mobile has also recorded an increase in data usage. Figures are not mentioned, nor are details; they are also missing from the reporting. The magenta-colored provider does report that mobile data consumption increased by five percent last year. The peak was between 0:05 and 0:15. In 2022, T-Mobile generally recorded an increase. On a regular day, the average data consumption increased by 20 percent compared to 2021. During Max Verstappen’s race on October 9. T-Mobile saw a 7 percent increase in data usage, compared to a normal Sunday.

Vodafone

VodafoneZiggo, which also includes mobile provider Vodafone, saw a 47 percent increase in data usage. It concerns the use of the mobile network between 22:00 and 04:00. In the first ten minutes of the year 2023, the Vodafone network was most used, although Vodafone does not report any further figures. The number of text messages sent fell by five percent. VodafoneZiggo saw a drop of 17 percent in telephone calls.