Turns out Barack Obama’s campaign wasn’t the only one using text messaging during the elections. Wireless subscribers used election day to send them, as well, leading to at least a 10 percent spike above normal, according to three of the top four U.S. carriers. All the carriers extrapolated data a little differently, but they all recorded a bump. On Sprint’s CDMA network, the carrier saw 21 percent higher volume in text messaging nationwide than it had the previous four Tuesdays. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) saw a 21 percent jump in SMS traffic from a typical Tuesday as well; it also said MMS traffic was up 10 percent. Finally, T-Mobile said it experienced holiday-like SMS traffic levels, which were up about 10 percent from a typical day. AT&T didn’t respond to requests for information.

All of the carriers also said that the spike in traffic started immediately after the TV networks projected Barack Obama as the winner, and then dropped off about an hour later. More than 1.2 billion text messages were sent across the country between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m. EST on election night, according to Sybase 365, RCR reports. A 10-minute surge of activity after Obama sealed the deal brought in more than three times the normal amount of traffic for that time of day. Sprint (NYSE: S) also provided some regional numbers. In the New York metro area, SMS traffic increased 26.3 percent from a typical day. In D.C., the spike was even more significant, jumping 42.5 percent over a typical day.

“I think what makes this election the wireless election is that we have all these technologies available to us, but they’re only useful to us if we take advantage of them. I really think it has changed the way candidates reach and communicate with voters and build relationships with voters whether those voters are contributors or volunteers,” Sprint’s John Taylor said.

UPDATE: AT&T reported figures, as well, In said in the hour following the announcement, text messaging traffic across its network surged about 44 percent, the highest spike in company history. It was even higher than the peak transactions per second logged for the most recent New Year’s Eve, a day that consistently ranks among the busiest texting days for AT&T (NYSE: T). 

Photo Credit: nate steiner