24 Jul 2016

Data use surges as people go mobile with Pokemon

2:24 pm on 24 July 2016

There's been a 10 percent spike in mobile phone data use since the launch of the Pokemon Go game two weeks ago.

Pokemon Go

The Pokemon Go craze has hit New Zealand in the past two weeks. Photo: AFP

The game is played on mobile phones and involves people tracing cartoon characters in New Zealand landmarks.

Spark's social communities manager Troy Rawhiti-Forbes said the data use is at its highest level in five years.

"We haven't seen anything like that since the Rugby World Cup in 2011 which obviously was huge for New Zealanders being a home tournament, so there was lot more to talk about than the 2015 one ... so clearly it looks like these spikes are like a twice-a-decade thing," Mr Rawhiti-Forbes said.

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