Amid the coronavirus crisis, an unprecedented number of internet users have turned to streaming platforms for entertainment while in lockdown.  Though networks appear capable of coping with the increased traffic, governments are working with streaming companies to reduce their burden.

There are huge concerns that the internet cannot handle the sudden surge in web traffic. In the U.K., internet providers have seen a double-digit increase in internet traffic – an increase that would normally take a year or more. Meanwhile, U.S. states saw median download speeds drop around 38 percent in March this year. In Australia, National Broadband Network (NBN) data traffic is up 70 percent during business hours. While experts agree that network providers have enough capacity to cope with the rise in internet traffic, the Australian government has reached out to streaming companies to see what they can do to reduce pressure on the NBN.

Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims, said that data from the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia program showed daytime NBN speeds are “not impacted” and “holding up well on most evenings.” Despite these statements, it would appear there are concerns about the network’s capacity. The infrastructure of the Australian network has been under pressure since 2009, when the idea of an open access network was conceptualised. The idea was to discourage monopolising of the industry and leave room for growth. However, the ambitious project is estimated to have cost $51 billion, and is currently running at 90 percent capacity, with a report in February predicting that the project will finally be completed in June.

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, along with a number of international telco groups, appealed to streaming companies, including Netflix, Stan, Disney+, and Foxtel, and large-file gaming firms to see what they could do to reduce the load on congested networks. In response, Netflix agreed to reduce its traffic by 25 percent across its entire service, for ultra-high, high, or standard definition. This reduction has been implemented in multiple countries that have voiced their concerns, including Australia, India, New Zealand, Argentina, Israel, Chile, and Europe.

What this means for Netflix viewers is that the company has removed the highest bandwidth stream, resulting in a very minimal decrease in viewing quality. “If you are particularly tuned into video quality you may notice a very slight decrease in quality within each resolution. But you will still get the video quality you paid for,” Ken Florance, Netflix’s vice-president of content delivery, said.

Foxtel has similarly launched an effort to reduce the burden its viewers are placing on the NBN. “We are working with government and will make any changes necessary to support the national effort,” a Foxtel spokesperson told The Guardian Australia. “That said, much of Foxtel’s broadcast service operates independent of the internet using satellite and customers with an HD subscription will be able to continue enjoying uninterrupted HD and Ultra HD broadcasts regardless of any decisions.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Xbox gaming business has asked large gaming companies to only release updates of their games that require online downloads during off-peak hours, enabling the internet to support sites dealing with more critical issues during working hours, according to an article published by The New York Times. Sony also said it would commit to slowing down PlayStation game downloads in Europe, which was for some time the epicentre of the virus.

The NBN is also doing all it can to accommodate the sudden surge in internet usage. It has allowed retail customers to access up to 40 percent more capacity than they usually would on the network, free of charge, for a period of three months. It measures roughly the equivalent to the higher end of increased data bandwidth requirements that have been seen in countries like Italy during the coronavirus crisis. Governments around the globe are also taking this opportunity to upgrade their network and infrastructure, with Thailand and Singapore rolling out their 5G plans despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The NBN is also collaborating with a working group, comprising NBN Co, Optus, Telstra, Vodafone, Vocus, and TPG, which has been given temporary authorisation by the ACCC to develop and implement “unusual traffic management and capacity optimisation techniques” to keep critical internet services operating during this unprecedented time.

Even retail stores like Kmart have taken steps to ease online congestion. Earlier this month, the retail supergiant introduced “queueing systems” on its online store to account for extra traffic. When purchasing a product from the e-store, customers are taken to a virtual “waiting room” and given a queue number and wait time, if others are shopping online at the store simultaneously.

Australia isn’t the only country seeking the cooperation of high data use websites and platforms in order to enable the massive increases in internet usage. Around the world, governments and authorities are asking everyone to help out until the crisis is over and the working population can return to the workplace. “Streaming platforms, telecom operators and users, we all have a joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus propagation,” the European Commission said in a statement.

In developing countries, no such allowances are able to be made. With many mobile networks still operating on 2G in what many would consider outdated and archaic setups, there simply isn’t the technological infrastructure to facilitate the increase in internet demand, making the idea of working from home an impossible one. Even in America, there have been instances where children and adults without broadband at home have taken to squatting outside schools and cafes to connect to the internet. As the world becomes increasingly digital, these countries that are unable to keep up will be effectively excluded from the remote working industry.

While the pandemic has ravaged our elderly and left the economy in shambles, it has also given us the incentive to improve certain aspects of society. Businesses have discovered that working remotely has increased productivity. Schools have been moving online gradually but have only recently adopted the idea of e-learning. This new demand for increased global interconnectivity has forced governments to reevaluate their current network infrastructure and paved the way for improvement. These changes will bring disruptions to the workplace culture, the education experience, and change our behaviour and expectations. Yet they also form the economic buoy that will keep livelihoods afloat in the upcoming years as we recover from the recession that COVID-19 has imposed.

Anton Lucanus holds a BSc from the University of Western Australia and is the Founder of Neliti, Indonesia’s largest digital library with over 200,000 publications and 3 million monthly website visitors.  Anton is a past recipient of the AIIA’s Euan Crone Scholarship.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Licence, and may be republished with attribution.