In expectation of a similar spike Telstra has boosted its coverage in every state, focussing on areas popular amongst New Year's Eve revellers, such as the Sydney Harbour foreshore and Woodford in Queensland.
According to Telstra OnAir's group manager, corporate relations, Catherine Payne, 5.8 million SMS messages were sent on Christmas Day 2001, compared to 2.9 million at the same time last year. If Telstra's predictions are anything to go on, the 2.6 million messages sent last New Year's Eve may increase to as many as eight million messages in this night of festivities.
While Payne said that the New Year's preparations were well underway, Telstra is also advising users to be patient should they have any problems connecting.
"People may experience some delays in getting calls through on New Year's Eve. Customers experiencing congestion should be patient and wait a couple of minutes before trying again," Payne said.
In keeping with the theme, Telstra is also boosting coverage around specific sporting events, or shows, such as Ascot Race Course for the New Year's Day carnival in WA, the SummerNats, held in Canberra each January, and the Sydney Domain for the Festival of Sydney.
