Mobile phone operators in the country cashed the boom and enthusiasm of voters during elections 2013 campaign and generated revenues as SMS traffic went up to one billion text messages per day.
Thousands of candidates in the country made full use of the modern communication facilities and continuously tried to convince voters in their constituencies through text messages.
According to rough figures, one billion short messages (SMS) were exchanged on a daily basis in the country when the election was drawing nearer.
“A huge rise in the usage of SMS was observed and not only the political parties used the SMS, but their supporters also exchanged a lot of SMS. Subscribers in Pakistan usually spend about a billion rupees a month on SMS,” said an official from a mobile service provider.
This increase in revenue is not only good for mobile companies but the medium used for campaigning is also very effective as there are 120 million mobile phone users in Pakistan. Mobile phone companies also used Election 2013 as an opportunity and promoted different offers for their users. The subscribers were able to get all the information through text messages.
Pakistan is one of the countries where per user SMS ratio is quite high. A general user generates 176 SMS per month in Pakistan. In China this number is 99 SMS per month, for India this figure is 53 per month, in USA this figure is 617 and in Brazil this figure is 22 SMS per month.
