FEARS have been raised that Brits’ home broadband speeds are dwindling due to a surge in demand this week.
People working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic are putting extra strain on internet providers, and some experts are concerned they can’t cope.
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Concerns have been raised that people’s home broadband speeds are slowing down this week
Vodafone has reported a 30 per cent rise in internet traffic across its home Wi-Fi and mobile networks this week, while TalkTalk has seen traffic jump 20 per cent since Monday.
One EU official has urged streaming sites like Netflix to show content in lower resolution to relieve the pressure on internet providers.
To prevent internet overloads, EU commissioner Thierry Breton called on content providers to block high definition streams.
However, internet service providers have downplayed the effect the extra traffic is having on their networks.
One EU official has urged streaming sites like Netflix to show content in lower resolution to relieve the pressure on internet providers
Vodafone has reported a 30 per cent rise in internet traffic across its home Wi-Fi and mobile networks
Traffic explosion
Boris Johnson told the nation on Monday that he was shutting down mass gatherings to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The PM said people should work from home and avoid pubs, clubs and theatres as part of a range of stringent new measures.
Complaints of plummeting broadband speeds in the UK began flooding in this week.
One Twitter user wrote: “Maybe because everyone is just home a lot more now bc of this coronavirus sh*t but my internet is slow as f**k.”
Another said: “You can have all my toilet paper, PLEASE DON’T BREAK THE INTERNET!”
One analyst told HOAR that it’s possible surging demand for home broadband is affecting people’s speeds.
“The more people that connect to a network at the same time will inevitably put a strain on it and thus reduce the speed,” Paolo Pescatore, of PP Foresight, said.
“This is akin to a motorway; increasing the number of lanes means more cars. However, the more cars on the road will lead everyone to slow down.”
“Telcos clearly need to brace themselves for an explosion of traffic over their networks,” he added.
“More needs to be done to stabilise the network.”
Headroom
The rising use of video conference calls and streaming apps is taking its toll.
Vodafone reports that the peaks and troughs of the UK’s data usage remains largely the same.
However, the “busy” period between 6pm and 8pm now extends all the way back to lunchtime.
Internet service providers, however, say they’re coping fine with the high demand.
“We have enough headroom to meet growing demand and to keep the UK connected,” a spokesperson said.
“Our network team is keeping a constant watch on the situation.”
TalkTalk also played down fears of broadband overload in the coming weeks.
“We continually optimise our network for both our consumer and business customers and are well prepared to ensure they receive reliable connectivity,” it said.
UK outages
Earlier this week, some of the UK’s major mobile networks all went down at once just as millions of people are self-isolating or working from home due to coronavirus.
Giffgaff, O2, EE, BT Mobile, Three, and Vodafone all reported problems on Tuesday.
Tesco Mobile and Virgin Media also appeared to have been impacted, according to monitoring website Down Detector.
Networks said they were investigating the cause of the issue, which left some customers unable to make calls or send texts for hours.
However, it appears the problem was not caused by an increased demand from customers working from home.
HOAR understands that an unknown technical problem with something that interconnects networks.
All mobile network providers have been working with Ofcom to identify the issue.
Full service has since been restored to all networks.
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Are you happy with your internet speeds? Let us know in the comments!
