Mobile phone customers in Canada sent more than 4.3 billion text messages in 2006, almost triple the 1.5 billion sent in 2005, according to a report released last week by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. Volumes peaked in December 2006 at more than 560 million in that month alone, which represents more than 18 million per day.

Roughly 18.5 million Canadians subscribed to wireless phone service by the end of 2006, which translates to a national wireless penetration rate of approximately 58%. And recent CWTA research estimates wireless penetration in major urban centres now exceeds 70%, with some large metropolitan areas approaching the 80% mark.