One expert claims that internet access could be rationed to prioritise health services and online lessons, rather than entertainment and gaming With coronavirus cases in the UK continuing to increase, many worried Brits have taken the wise decision to work from home.
But with everyone trying to access the internet at the same time, internet providers are feeling the strain.
Last week, several of the biggest networks were hit with crashes, including Vodafone, O2, gift gaff and EE.
Now, one expert claims that internet access could be rationed to prioritise health services and online lessons, rather than entertainment and gaming.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Matthew Howett, principal analyst at Assembly, explained: “If we end up in a situation where worldwide, 850m children start to receive lessons virtually for an extended period of time, then networks might want to start prioritising video traffic over gaming traffic.”
BT claims that it’s built in more than 10 times capacity needed for everyday day, and has ‘more than enough’ to handle the increase n people working from home.
However, several video streaming services have already made changes in response to the increase in use.
Netflix is reducing the video quality of its content for 30 days to help Internet providers who are struggling with high demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. European officials made a request to the company due to the pressures that networks are facing due to the increase in audiences streaming.
A Netflix spokesperson announced: “Following the discussions between Commissioner Thierry Breton and [Netflix chief executive] Reed Hastings, and given the extraordinary challenges raised by the coronavirus, Netflix has decided to begin reducing bitrates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days.”
Meanwhile, Google has decided that YouTube will default all videos on YouTube to standard definition for 30 days.
According to YouTube, this will ensure maximum bandwidth availability in the UK and Europe.
