Telco hit by World Cup fever

More than 150,000 voice calls and 73,000 SMSs were carried out across Telstra's network at the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony.

The telco also reported more than 320,000 voice calls and 200,000 SMSs sent between match venues during the weekend.

“We certainly expected an increase, given the significance of the Rugby World Cup and the number of people attending major venues around the country,” Telstra spokesperson Chris Newlan told iTnews. “History shows people like using their mobile phones during major sporting events.”

The peak period for SMS use was Friday night, when Telstra customers sending 300 messages every minute between 6pm and 7pm, according to Anthony Goonan, Telstra infrastructure services Rugby World Cup project director.

According to Goonan, more mobile voice calls were switched by the telco at Friday night's opening ceremony than at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2000.

He said the telco had increased capacity on its GSM network by 40 percent, upping capacity on its CDMA network by 40 percent at the venues.