AUSSIES CREATE A DIGITAL HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Optus research reveals Australians plan to take more than four devices away on holiday to ring in the New Year

It seems the nation's gadget obsession continues, especially as we head into the new year. ¹Optus research reveals that while 50 per cent of Aussies claim they would love to have a holiday free from all digital devices, almost a third are stressed by the thought of leaving home without their gadgets.

As a result, the average Australian family is planning to take more than four devices like mobiles, cameras, laptops and music players away on holiday. Despite dreaming of a digital-free holiday, more than half of us (58 per cent) don't feel comfortable leaving for holidays without our devices, while 46 per cent think it would be quite boring to go away without them.

Almost one in three Aussies (32 per cent) consider gadgets as welcome distractions from their family, as well as people with kids. Meanwhile, men are especially keen to use technology to escape the family.

Clare Gill, Head of Government and Corporate Affairs, Optus said, "As we head on holidays, Aussies want to remain connected and entertained via our gadgets. The portability of mobile phones and tablets mean that even when we're sitting by the pool or visiting relatives, we can still check-in or post our latest photos."

Devices such as smartphones are set to play a huge role this season, with 22 per cent of Aussies planning to jump onto social media sites to wish friends and family a happy New Year. Optus forecasts that on New Year's Eve, the peak load of mobile data will be 54 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.²

However, texts are still popular with 34 per cent of Australians planning to SMS their friends and 29 per cent likely to SMS their work colleagues on New Year's Eve.

Optus data supports this, with millions of its customers this New Year's Eve predicted to:³

• Send more than 72 million SMS messages - an increase of over 4 million from last year
• Make more than 44 million mobile calls
• Make more than 29 million local and national calls
• Spend more than 3 million minutes calling overseas friends and family

On Christmas Day this year⁴, customers on the Optus network:

• Sent over 64 million SMS messages
• Made over 32 million mobile calls
• Made almost 25 million local and national calls
• Spent over 4.5 million minutes calling overseas friends and family

"Our customers can be confident that we have been working hard throughout the year to ensure our network is capable of providing optimum coverage, with upgrades to many popular holiday destinations around Australia in preparation for the holiday season," Ms Gill continued.

Optus has carried out capacity upgrades in holiday hotspots over the last 12 months such as Airlie Beach, Batemans Bay, Byron Bay, Cairns, Hervey Bay, Philip Island, Port Douglas, Port Lincoln, Surfers Paradise and Victor Harbour, amongst many others, including sites along the Murray River. Byron Bay, Noosa and Alexandria Headlands and more than 100 sites in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast have also been upgraded to 4G in time for summer.

Since last Christmas holiday season, new sites have also been built in popular spots such as Marion Bay in South Australia, St Helens in Tasmania, Letts Beach in Victoria, Turkey Beach in Queensland, Coral Bay in Western Australia and Halliday's Point in New South Wales.

Media contact:
Claire Wong / Danny Wong
Optus Corporate Affairs
(02) 8082 7850

¹ Research background: Optus commissioned an independent survey of a representative sample group of 1,032 Australians aged 18 years and over. Fieldwork commenced on Tuesday, December 4 2012 and was completed on Friday, December 7 2012. This study was conducted online amongst members of a permission based panel. Data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

² Prediction figures are based on a 24 hour time period from 3pm on New Year's Eve 2012 to 3pm on New Year's Day 2013. Figures are based on mobile data core network throughput speed.

³ Prediction figures are based on a 24 hour time period of 3pm New Year's Eve 2012 to 3pm New Year's Day 2013

⁴ Figures are based on actual data in a 24 hour time period of 12am to 12am on Christmas Day 2012.