10,000 Swedes surveyed about Christmas

Telia predicts SMS record on Christmas Eve

Using the phone to wish people a Merry Christmas is becoming more and
more popular in Sweden. One-third of the 10,000 people who responded to
Telia’s annual Christmas survey stated that they would prefer to call,
or send an SMS or MMS message, to convey their Christmas greetings.
Telia is predicting that the Swedish people will set a record for SMS
messages this year during the 24-hour Christmas Eve period.

This year two out of five people in Sweden will send their Christmas
greetings by phone or computer. Sixteen percent would definitely prefer
to call, compared with 13 percent in last year’s survey. One out of ten
Swedes said they like to e-mail their message and 12 percent stated that
they would prefer to send their Christmas wishes by SMS. The
corresponding figures for 2005 were 12 and 11 percent, respectively.

In Sweden, people living in the north, in the Norrbotten region, use the
phone the most, with 20 percent of them calling and 17 percent sending
their Christmas greeting by SMS. Kalmar County places last, with only 12
percent phoning a Christmas message, and 12 percent preferring to send
an SMS message.

“On Christmas Eve 2005, people in Sweden sent 6.2 million SMS messages
through our mobile network and we are expecting over 7 million messages
this year. We are also seeing that MMS messaging is gaining in
popularity and we’re glad that so many people want to receive a
Christmas message with text, picture and sound,” says Indra Åsander,
head of the Consumer Segment at TeliaSonera Sweden.

MMS message popular for Christmas greeting
A good old-fashioned SMS with a simple greeting is the type of message
people in Sweden would prefer the most to receive on their mobile. One
out of two would prefer an MMS as a Christmas message.


What type of Christmas greeting would you prefer to receive on
your mobile phone?
1. SMS with simple Christmas
greeting 40%
2. MMS with picture 23%
3. MMS with Christmas music 13%
4. SMS with rhyme 11%
5. MMS with video clip 11%



How do you prefer to send your Christmas greeting?
1. Post a Christmas card 52%
2. Call 16%
3. Send an SMS message 12%
4. E-mail 11%
5. Say it in person 7%
6. Send an MMS message 3%


About Telia’s 2006 Christmas Survey
Telia surveyed 10,126 people in Sweden about their communication habits
during the Christmas holiday period. All of Sweden is represented in the
survey. The respondents were Telia customers. The survey was conducted
November 9-15, 2006.