Telecom User Trends: Text messaging plunges in popularity

The number of text messages sent by people with a Dutch mobile phone contract fell last year by 27% as free alternatives such as Whatsapp made inroads, according to telecom watchdog Opta in its annual report.

At the same time, mobile internet traffic rose by 42% to an average of 182 Mb a month in 2012, Opta's annual report shows.

Despite the rise in free services, the amount of time spent making mobile phone calls was virtually unchanged at an average of 97 minutes a month.

Opta also said Switzerland has now overtaken the Netherlands in terms of broadband connection density. Switzerland now has 42 internet connections per 100 people, compared with 39 per 100 in the Netherlands.