The UK text messaging total broke through the 4bn barrier for the first time during December 2006, according to figures announced by the Mobile Data Association (MDA). December's remarkable total of 4.3bn takes the overall figure for 2006 to 41.8bn, surpassing the MDA's prediction of 40bn and giving a daily average for the year of 114mn. Person-to-person texts sent across the UK GSM network operators throughout the last month of the year show a growth of 38% on the December 2005 figure of 3.1bn, and represent an average of 138mn messages per day. On Christmas Day this leapt to 205mn texts, an average of 8mn per hour, with the figure for New Year's Day 2007 even higher reaching a record breaking 214mn, the highest daily total ever recorded by the MDA. When compared to the mere 42mn messages sent per day five years ago throughout December 2001, it becomes clear just how far the nation has come in embracing text messaging technology which has emerged from a popular craze to becoming an essential communication tool, inclusive to all age groups. The MDA has forecast that figures will continue to rise this year to deliver an annual total of 45bn text messages for 2007, with an average of 3.75bn messages being sent per month and 123mn messages per day.
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