To be more precise: Telstra is expecting us to download twice the amount of data we downloaded last year.
The exact number Telstra is predicting: 900,000GB on Christmas day. An almost powerfully abstract number that is difficult to comprehend.
“The amount of data we predict to be downloaded is the equivalent of 800,000 hours of HD video in one day, which is a fair load for the network to carry,” said Telstra’s Director for Wireless Network Engineering, Channa Seneviratne.
Even that more relatable number is difficult to parse.
Telstra’s reasoning for the dramatic increase: more and more users are focusing internet usage on images shared on Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter — any social network you care to name. Higher quality images, using 4G networks. In general it seems, we are simply more likely to share Christmas moments online. All these factors combine to make a doubling of traffic almost inevitable.
Telstra also dropped some other interesting stats…
· Phone calls from mobiles are expected to increase by 10% compared to last year with an estimated 35 million calls expected to be made around the country to friends and loved ones
· SMS messages expected to remain popular, with a record 58 million messages expected to be sent on Christmas Day
· As Christmas Day is usually the biggest day of the year for international calls, Telstra expects more than 600,000 calls to be made from fixed and mobile phones
· New Zealand, the UK and the USA are the most popular international call destinations
Text messages to “remain popular”. The fact a percentage increase wasn’t provided leads me to think that people are actually texting less. That being said — 50 million is still a ridiculous number.