Holidays boost SMS use

JAKARTA: The use of short message services (SMS) increased by more than 100 percent during the recent Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year period, an executive of a cellular operator said.

PT Excelcomindo Pratama director Rudiantara was quoted by Antara as saying on Monday that there was an 80 percent increase, on the 1.8 million messages that are sent on a normal day, during Idul Fitri, a 30 percent increase at Christmas and a rise of 122.2 percent over the New Year.

He said that last year the telecommunications industry booked a total revenue of Rp 5.25 trillion, of which 8 percent came from the SMS service.

"SMS is widely used because it offers a relatively cheap price and it attracts all walks of life, from youngsters to adults," Rudiantara said. -- JP