Crouch, bind, send - uploading highlights to world

Telecom expects around 150,000 texts to be sent by the Eden Park crowd. Photo / Thinkstock

It's a match predicted to be a thriller, but those of us in the crowd at tonight's All Blacks test will still find time to send text messages and browse the internet.

Rugby stadiums can be added to bus-stops, cafes, traffic lights and the litany of other gathering places for people checking their phones.

Telecom has estimated that fans at Eden Park will upload around 14,000MB of mobile data in the lead-up to and during the test - the equivalent of about 9,000 photos posted to Facebook.

The telco's analysis of activity during previous All Blacks tests in Wellington and Hamilton revealed a huge peak in data consumption before kick-off, at half-time and again at the final whistle. Text messages are sent fairly consistently during the game, dropping off shortly after full-time.

Telecom would not release detailed information from its analysis because of commercial sensitivity, but expects around 150,000 texts to be sent by the Eden Park crowd.

The crowd will download around 25,000MB of mobile data to browse the internet - enough to download a 30-second try replay 3,700 times.

Telecom retail chief executive Chris Quin said that reflected the continued rise of the smartphone.

"More than 60 per cent of our customers now own a smartphone of some shape or size. "

Vodafone consumer director Matt Williams expected similar volumes.

"Kiwis are more mobile than ever before. They're not just going to the game and texting friends when they get lost, they're actually sharing images and video, and staying in constant contact with the outside world."