The bar chart illustrates the total number of
minutes
, in billions, spent on three types of telephone calls in Australia—local, national and international, and mobile—from 2001 to 2008.
Use synonyms
Overall
, local calls were the most commonly used service throughout the Linking Words
period
, Use synonyms
while
mobile calls increased dramatically and national and international calls rose steadily. Linking Words
Although
local calls peaked midway through the Linking Words
period
, they eventually declined, Use synonyms
whereas
the other two categories continued to grow.
Local call Linking Words
minutes
began at 72 Use synonyms
billion
in 2001 and increased gradually to reach a peak of 90 Use synonyms
billion
in 2005. Use synonyms
After
Linking Words
this
point, usage steadily declined, falling back to 72 Linking Words
billion
by 2008, the same level as at the start of the Use synonyms
period
.
National and international calls showed continuous growth over the eight years. Starting at 38 Use synonyms
billion
Use synonyms
minutes
in 2001, they rose steadily each year to reach 61 Use synonyms
billion
in 2008, with no declines at any point in the Use synonyms
period
.
Mobile call Use synonyms
minutes
experienced the most dramatic change. Beginning at just 2 Use synonyms
billion
in 2001, they rose slowly until 2005, after which growth accelerated significantly. By 2008, mobile usage had reached 46 Use synonyms
billion
Use synonyms
minutes
, representing the largest relative increase among the three categories.Use synonyms