Kiwis Embrace Advanced Mobile Phone Services

Kiwis Embrace Advanced Mobile Phone Services

More New Zealanders used their Telecom 027 mobiles to dial up mobile Internet services over the three days of Telecom’s free Queen’s Birthday weekend trial offer than ever before.

Telecom Mobile Head of Marketing Kevin Bowler said almost 50,000 customers took the opportunity during the free long weekend to access information such as local weather forecasts, play mobile games and, if they were Xtra customers, send and receive Xtra emails on their 027 mobile phones.

Telecom made Xtra email and Internet services on 027 mobile phones free over Queen’s Birthday weekend to encourage New Zealanders to trial the leading-edge Xtra Mobile Internet services available on 027 mobile phones.

In total, more than 4.5 million ‘pages’ of mobile Internet services were accessed by 027 mobile phone users in the 72 hours of the free long weekend – more than the total for the entire month of April.

Kevin Bowler said the enthusiastic response to the free long weekend on 027 mobile Internet services shows how just quick Kiwis are to embrace new technology. “At peak times over Queen’s Birthday weekend usage of Xtra email and Internet services was up almost 1,000% on previous weeks,” said Mr Bowler.

The most popular services accessed over the long weekend were games, Xtra email, ringtone downloads and entertainment news and information.

“In terms of the percentage of 027 customers who use their phones to access mobile Internet services, we’re now into double figures and growing.

“When you consider that in some countries the uptake of mobile Internet services sits around the one to three percent mark, that’s a pretty good indication of just how quickly Kiwis take to new technology,” he said.

More than 300,000 New Zealanders are already on Telecom’s advanced 027 network, and that number is increasing fast, said Mr Bowler.

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