SMS popularity shows no sign of slowing as billions do not ring in the New Year - but text instead.

This was revealed by Acision, the messaging and charging company which serves over 300 network operators and service providers worldwide.

Global SMS traffic during the 2007-08 New Year period increased by 30 per cent compared to last year, the company said in a statement.

Around the world, phone users sent a staggering 43 billion text messages to wish their loved ones a happy New Year – of which more than 23 billion were successfully processed through Acision’s systems, it added.

Growth was strong in both mature and emerging markets – in Portugal, SMS traffic almost tripled across the festive period compared to last year and Dutch operator KPN saw its messaging traffic double on New Years Eve, the company said.

However the most astounding growth figures came from developing markets, where India’s 220 million mobile subscribers sent over a billion text messages – a 300 per cent increase to their day to day traffic levels. The Philippines retained its title as the text messaging capital of the world - sending a remarkable 1.39 billion text messages from a subscriber base of just 50 million, it added.

“Messaging represents a significant slice of mobile operator revenues, and events like New Years Eve demonstrate how critical it is for operators to ensure a reliable and speedy service. One of our operator customers’ infrastructure operated under peaks of 19,000 messages sent per second without congestion or delay. The New Year figures are eagerly anticipated each year and this year’s record traffic levels again do not disappoint,” said Nabil Y Khalil, Acision Managing Director in the Middle East and North Africa. – TradeArabia News Service