telecommunications
New Year’s Eve data consumption in the cell phone network at a record high
People take photos
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
After the Corona years, many people went to New Year’s Eve parties again and used the mobile phone network instead of their home WiFi.
At its competitor Telefónica, the data volume increased by around a quarter and thus also reached a record high: in the first hour of the new year alone, users nationwide sent around 700,000 gigabytes through the network. At Deutsche Telekom, the amount of data was 30 percent higher compared to the previous year and reached more than 2.2 million gigabytes between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m.
“Especially in big cities, cell phone users made the cell phone network glow”
Vodafone technology boss Tanja Richter said that people are increasingly sharing New Year’s Eve greetings, New Year’s wishes and party impressions with high-resolution video calls in the 5G network, which is now available in many places. “Especially in the big cities where public New Year’s Eve parties took place, cell phone users lit up the cell phone network.” Berlin was at the top, followed by Munich, Hamburg, Cologne and Düsseldorf.
Telefónica Germany boss Markus Haas said that on New Year’s Eve you can see how much mobile communications connect people. In 2024, mobile communications will play an even more central role in people’s everyday lives thanks to ever better networks.
Data consumption in mobile communications has been growing rapidly for a long time due to the use of data-intensive applications and changing communication habits, with companies reporting record levels year after year. The number of traditional telephone calls on New Year’s Eve, however, has not increased compared to the previous year. For many people, simple SMS still served well at the turn of the year: on the Deutsche Telekom network alone, customers sent around five million SMS messages on the first night of the new year.