We Are Using so Much Internet Data Now That Internet Traffic Surged 60% So Far

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the government has urged that companies allow their staff to work from home as far as possible.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has even carried out as many as 250 inspections at companies to ensure that they were carrying out safe distancing measures.

If they do not abide by the measures, the company will be issued with a stop-work order until the issue is rectified.

It seems like all these measures have proven to be effective since more people seem to be working from home… or at least doing something from home on the internet *cough*Netflix*

We Are Using so Much Internet Data Now That Internet Traffic Surged 60% So Far

Internet data traffic has increased dramatically by as much as 60%, according to Internet service providers (ISPs).

They believe that this is due to most of the workforce working from home during this period.

According to The Straits Times, MyRepublic has been experiencing a huge increase in daytime traffic over the course of last month, while ViewQwest has observed an overall increase of as much as 30%.

Singtel has also reported a significant increase in network traffic. On the other hand, StarHub has observed that there are more people on the Internet during the daytime.

Data centre provider Equinix said: “In Singapore, we have witnessed a 30 per cent surge in Internet exchange traffic, with the country currently seeing one of the highest overall in the world. The current shift in digital consumption patterns has never been so drastic in such a short span of time.”

Perhaps Due To Work From Home

This significant increase in the demand for Internet services comes as no surprise, given the current coronavirus situation all over the world where people are being asked to stay home.

Companies are activating their business continuity plans and have thus sent their staff home so that they don’t have to commute to work every day.

In countries such as Malaysia, its people have been asked to stay indoors under the Movement Control Order (MCO).

And what else do people do indoors other than use up all the internet bandwidth?

That’s me typing this article right now and using up all my internet bandwidth.

Singapore’s ISPs Have Enough Capacity To Buffer For Higher Usage

Thankfully, you won’t have to worry about your internet being cut off or worse, experiencing laggy internet because ISPs have said that they regularly maintain and upgrade their systems.

Thus, they will have enough capacity to buffer for higher usage of the internet during this COVID-19 outbreak.

Thus far, there has been little to no impact on our Internet here, so we can be assured that we can Netflix & Chill, I mean work from home productively without any reservations.

Reader: Did you just say “thus far”?

Yes, let’s not second-guess now.

However, the same cannot be said for places like Europe and the United States where it has been reported that the internet connection has “slowed down dramatically”.

For example, many households in Britain reportedly don’t have fibre broadband connections and don’t have enough bandwidth for high-intensity Internet usage.

Phew, other than overpriced surgical masks, the potential price increase of food and the literal collapse of our social lives, at least we have one less thing to worry about.