Munich (dpa / lby) - Oktoberfest visitors have sent more data with their smartphones than ever before. Both Vodafone, O2 and Telekom reported record values for this year's Wiesn on Tuesday. In some cases, there was more than a doubling of the last Oktoberfest in 2019. The fact that the new, faster 5G standard was available for the first time may also have contributed to this.
The three major network operators added up to a data volume of 435 terabytes. In 2019 it was still 233 terabytes. There were significantly fewer visitors to this year's Wiesn than three years ago. Telekom recorded the strongest increase: from 76 to 165 terabytes. That's more than a doubling. At O2, a good 150 terabytes were assumed on Tuesday. In 2019 it was 87. Vodafone reported an increase from 70 terabytes in 2019 to 120 this year.
At the same time, Vodafone recorded a decline in telephone traffic. All calls over the provider's network together lasted 35,000 hours, which is 20 percent less than three years ago. However, O2 counted a slight increase in the number of calls: from 3.7 to 3.8 million. However, the number of classic SMS at O2 fell by 78 percent to just 150,000. This shows the extensive shift to messenger services.
At Vodafone, 5G, the trend towards social media and the high proportion of young visitors are seen as the main drivers for this year's data record. "People shared more and more not only photos this year on Instagram, Whats-App and Co., but also high-resolution videos directly from the marquees," said Technical Director Tanja Richter. In addition, younger social media platforms are increasingly geared towards moving images.
