In anticipation for New Year’s Eve, communication firm, Sprint, announced that it was going to reinforce its network in order to ensure 'texters' messages will get through to their loved ones at midnight.
New Year’s Eve has become one of the busiest times for sending texts with double the normal number being sent. Sprint says it took major steps to enhance its network in places where crowds gather, such as New York’s Times Square and Las Vegas. It claims to have spent $15bn on improving its network since 2006.
The news follows revelations by the University of Waterloo's professor of computer science, Srinivasan Keshav, that the cost to major telecoms firms, such as Sprint and Verizon, of carrying text messages is negligible and it doesn't cost much more if many more texts are sent. Therefore, the more texts being sent, the happier the telecoms giants are.
In light of this, the major mobile firms will be welcoming statistics that show older adults are now sending more texts. A study by Sprint, found that 20% of 55-64 year olds are now sending texts, with 76% of them texting their children.
