Census underestimates text messaging

When the Census Bureau makes a mistake, it's usually a big one. And in the latest case, it was a flap heard round the world.

The Census Bureau issued a press release on Tuesday outlining the explosion in the growth of texting in the United States. The problem is that it is only a fraction of what it really is, according to CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industries.

The Census said there were 110 billion text messages sent in 2008, up from 48 billion in 2007. It was listed as just one item in the bureau's annual authoritative tome, listing just about everything you want to know about everything. It's called the "Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012."

Computerworld reports that CTIA reported in October that 2008 texting was probably seven times what the Census Bureau said in its release. For the first half of 2008, CTIA said there were 385 billion text messages sent; the organization estimated that for the first half of 2009, that number hit 740 billion.

For more on the Census and texting:
- see this Computerworld article

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