• Data traffic tipped to be 30% higher on the Telstra Mobile Network than last Christmas
  • Tablets and smartphones will be Santa's hottest deliveries
  • 10% more people will pick up the phone during the festive season as voice makes a comeback
  • Network traffic will peak with a 300% increase between 11pm and 1am on New Year's Eve
  • Christmas Eve is the most popular time for phone calls while New Year's Eve tops the chart for text messages

Telstra is predicting mobile data traffic to increase by 30% on last year as more Aussies than ever connect by sharing pictures, video or text messages and checking in via social media on their existing and 'just-delivered-by-Santa' digital devices.

While, in a blast from the past, 10% more people than last year will choose a more traditional way to connect, by using their fixed or mobile phone for a good old-fashioned chin-wag.

Telstra Director Mobility, Scott McGibbony said Telstra is looking forward to helping Australians make great connections during the 2014 festive season over the best mobile network.

"Over the past 12 months we improved our 4G network and added new 4GX technology to help our customers connect faster, more easily and in more places.

"Our predictions show customers are enthusiastically using this new technology and we expect the numbers of picture and video messages sent this year to increase on previous years.

"We're expecting more people to pick up the phone this Christmas to check in with family and friends and should see around 175 million calls made over our mobile and fixed networks - a 10% increase on last year - with more than 57 million calls expected on Christmas Eve alone.

"As we ring in the new year, we're preparing for mobile network traffic to peak with a 300% increase between 11pm and 1am. New Year's Eve is about being out partying with friends so a quick text message is a fast and simple way to share the festive cheer when you're on-the-go.

"Tablets and smartphones are proving to be Santa's hottest deliveries this year and now, unwrapping Telstra digital devices comes with a peace of mind guarantee thanks to real-time data usage alerts. The alerts help you keep control of data usage with reminders sent at 50%, 85% and 100% of your data cap and a reminder to top up if required. This is especially useful for customers with new devices who may not be experienced with managing data usage," said Mr McGibbony.

More information on how to manage your mobile usage is available on Telstra.com.

Media contact: Steve Carey, 0413 988 640, media@team.telstra.com

Reference Number: 245/2014

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