Band 7+: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The bar chart below shows the total number of minutes (in billions) of telephone calls in Australia, divided into three categories, from 2001- 2008. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The bar chart illustrates the total time people spend in phone calls (in billions) in Australia among three categories, over the period 2001-2008.

Overall, local phone calls were the commonest among Australians and it used to occupy much of the time compared to other modes of call. Additionally, as the reliance on local phone calls slightly decreased over the last years, the use of national and international calls and mobile increased steadily over the same period.

Local phone calls occupied the greatest amount of time among the various categories. In 2001, local phone calls contributed to 72 billion minutes. This figure increased steadily over the years to reach a peak of 90 billion minutes in 2005. Between 2006 and 2008, the use of local phone calls withnessed a slight decline to reach its primary figure of 72 billion minutes in 2008.

The use of national and international calls represented only 30 billion minutes in 2001. This mode of calling gained popularity steadily and increased over the years to reach about 61 billion minutes in 2008. Mobile calls had the least number of minutes, with only 2 billion minutes spent in 2001. The use of mobile increased slowly over the years, but however improved to 46 billion minutes in 2008.