Lots of Text Messages Sent Election Night, Says Sybase

There was huge surge in SMS traffic during the 10 minutes after Barack Obama was officially named the president elect of the U.S. says Sybase 365.

On Tuesday, between 8.00pm and 8.10pm PST, the volume of messages surged over 3 times the "normal" volume for that time of day. The hour between 8.00pm and 9.00pm PST was 9% greater than the same hour on the previous day.

As polling stations closed across the country and specifically between 4:00pm and 9.00pm PST, Sybase 365 estimates that more than 1.2 billion SMS messages were sent across the Country. Throughout Tuesday, the total number of text messages sent was 10 percent higher than the previous day.

 "Such a surge is not surprising, as text messaging has become so ubiquitous around the world," said Marty Beard, president, Sybase 365. "This is a great example of the power of mobile messaging as a communication tool for the masses."