Is the Internet Slowing Down Because of the Coronavirus?

With the declaration of a state of alarm in Spain last Saturday and the impact of the #QuédateEnCasa campaign on Twitter and other platforms, many users have turned to the internet to make this quarantine pause a bit more bearable as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and its COVID-19 disease continue to spread. However, that significant surge in internet usage appears to be having its first consequences: DE-CIX Madrid announced a new record on March 14, and many users are reporting a loss of close to 10 percent in download speeds.

Staying home or going out as little as possible, taking social interaction to an absolute minimum, not panicking, not buying essentials based on panic, and washing your hands are relatively simple guidelines, and if we look at internet traffic in recent days, the population seems to be cooperating. The search for information about the coronavirus is undoubtedly a priority, but the biggest jump in activity is linked to audio and video streaming and the use of video calls.

For example, the DE-CIX Madrid internet exchange point confirmed that last Saturday it broke its historical exchange record, reaching a substantial 468 gigabits per second. However, it was DE-CIX Frankfurt, considered the largest internet exchange point globally, that shattered all records with 9.1 terabits per second. Operators also report traffic increases of almost 40 percent, while on mobile networks there is talk of an extra 50 percent in voice calls, 25 percent more data, and up to five times more traffic from WhatsApp.

Now, DE-CIX is supposed to have the capacity to adapt to such a notable increase in demand, but that is not necessarily true among local providers. In fact, several online speed tests suggest that Spanish services saw their download speeds affected by 10 percent. The release of extra gigabytes and the temporary removal of limits is a double-edged sword, so providers are asking for moderation.

Something similar appears to be happening in France. With the mandatory quarantine declared by the authorities (President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a 'sanitary war'), and the impressive surge in online activity over the last weekend, the French Federation of Telecommunications has not ruled out applying selective throttling, reducing the performance of entertainment platforms to prioritize professional use of bandwidth. Could that happen in Spain? We will soon find out.

Source: El Economista

Source: FierceTelecom