Optus is predicting its customers will send over 40 million text messages and make over 38 million mobile phone calls on Christmas day.
Michael Smith, Acting Managing Director, Optus Consumer said, "In recent years the mobile phone has become an integral part of the way we live our lives. More and more people now turn to their mobile to stay in touch with friends and family, keep up to date with the latest news and access entertainment.
"On Christmas day last year, Optus mobile customers sent 32.3 million text messages, a 23.1 per cent increase on 2006 and made 31.9 million mobile phone calls, up 11 per cent on 2006.
"Text messaging continues to be a popular way for Australians to send season's greetings to loved ones both nationally and overseas. This year, we expect to increase the number of mobile text messages sent in one day, by reaching 40 million text messages sent on Christmas day.
"We are also predicting a strong increase in overseas calls on Christmas day with the three most popular calling destinations for Optus customers likely to be the UK, the Philippines and New Zealand.
"Customers travelling overseas this Christmas can also download free1 Lonely Planet phrasebooks in ten key languages to their mobile.
"The Apple iPhone 3G has been a popular choice with customers all year and this popularity is set to continue leading into Christmas with the delivery of brand new Pre-Paid handset stock to our Optus World stores and selected retail partners in time for wrapping," Mr Smith said.
Optus is delivering more this festive season with great gift ideas, free goodies and fantastic offers for Christmas including new Pre-Paid Mobile Turbo Caps, featuring huge increases in value and caps that now include unlimited MySpace and YouTube across the Turbo Cap range2.
Customers can also have fun with their mobile this holiday season with Optus Zoo. For a limited time only, customers can buy a $10 Zoo Bumper Pass3 and enjoy unlimited downloads of Games, Wallpapers, Sound FX and Mobile TV viewing on the Zoo Bumper Pass site.
"Optus also has hundreds of committed staff members who will be working over the holidays to support our customers and our network during this busy period," said Mr Smith.
Note to Editor:
- For more information on Optus Christmas offers please view our online Christmas catalogue at www.optus.com.au/more
- For more information on Optus' Pre-Paid offers, go to www.optus.com.au/prepaidmobile
- An SMS text message costs 25 cents to send per message of 160 characters. International text messages are charged at 50 cents per message. An MMS message costs 50 cents to send and international MMS cost 75 cents. Other mobile content costs cost may vary, for a full pricing breakdown please visit www.optus.com.au/mobile and click on Mobile Features and Services.
- For further information on Lonely Planet’s mobile phrasebooks, please visit www.optustalkitup.com.au/lonelyplanet/phrasebooks. Mobile phrasebooks are available by SMSing any of the below 10 code words to 996:
Cantonese - SMS Canto to 966 Czech - SMS Czech to 966 French - SMS French to 966 German - SMS German to 966 Italian - SMS Italian to 966 Japanese - SMS Jap to 966 Mandarin - SMS Mand to 966 Spanish - SMS Spanish to 966 Thai - SMS Thai to 966 Vietnamese - SMS Viet to 966
Media contact:
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7850
1Lonely Planet: Optus customers only. Standard download charges apply for all customers. Pre-Paid customers will also be charged a download flagfall of 22 cents when accessing mobile internet content. Customers must have an Optus GPRS compatible handset with GPRS active on the service. No charges apply to SMS 966. Lonely Planet mobile phrasebooks are not available to iPhone customers.
2Turbo Cap: All credits expire within 30 days. Exclusions apply to MyBonus, MyData, Pre-Paid Messaging Money & Pre-Paid Money. Once your MyCredit balance has been exhausted you must recharge to use these services. MyBonus excludes premium SMS & content, international roaming charges, Zoo content usage charges, Instant Messenger, video calling, 966 and satellite calls. MyData is for use within Australia on internet browsing & downloading content. Standard browsing and downloading charges apply. Pre-Paid Messaging Money can be used to text/MMS any Optus/Boost Pre-Paid Mobile within Australia. Pre-Paid Money is credit which can be used to talk, text, MMS and/or video call any Optus/Boost Pre-Paid mobile phone within Australia. Optus Fair Go™ Policy applies. Unlimited Myspace/YouTube access provided through Optus Zoo only. Standard GPRS charges apply to navigate to YouTube/Myspace Mobile unless the user bookmarks the MySpace & YouTube page through Optus Zoo, and accesses the site through the bookmark in which no GPRS rates apply. See optuszoo.com.au/tc for full details. MySpace Mobile: Available to Optus customers with a compatible handset and an existing MySpace account. YouTube: Available to Optus 3G customers with a compatible handset. YouTube is a registered trademark of Google Inc. For the most up to date information visit www.optus.com.au/prepaidmobile
3$10 Bumper Pass: Provides access to the $10 Bumper site from 17 Nov 2008 until 31 Jan 2009. No charges apply for any of the content, or for browsing or downloading within the Bumper Site. Optus Pre-Paid mobile customers will be charged a 22c flagfall per data session. Your handset must be 3G compatible with an internet browser and media player to access Mobile TV content within the Bumper site and GPRS compatible to access the remainder of the site. Not all handsets will be compatible with the content selection on the site. Not available on the Apple iPhone. The service is only available to customers within the Optus 3G /HSPA or GSM coverage areas and is subject to network availability. Mobile TV is only available within 3G coverage areas. See www.optus.com.au/coverage for more details. Standard data browsing and downloading charges apply to navigate to the Bumper site from Optus Zoo main menu. 966: No charges apply to SMS 966 until 31 January 2009. You must have a compatible handset to receive a WAP push message. Full terms and conditions available at www.optuszoo.com.au/mobile.