Comcast reports internet use is up
Peak-time patterns shift
As Memphians find ways to pass the time outdoors being mindful of social distancing, they, along with the rest of nation, are also consuming and using more media since shelter-inplace laws were passed.
Since March 1, Comcast saw a 33% increase nationally in upstream traffic and a 13% increase in downstream traffic. Upstream traffic refers to uploading files and photos, as well as sending emails. Downstream traffic includes downloading and watching television programs.
According to Jason Gumbs, Comcast’s regional senior vice president for the Big South Region, internet usage in Memphis has tracked with national trends. Households are also watching an average of two more hours of television per day, and there’s been a 35% increase in streaming and web video consumption.
“I don’t think it surprised us,” Gumbs said. “What we’ve seen is that peak traffic looks different than it did prior to the (pandemic),”
Peak upstream traffic used to occur around 9 p.m. prior to March 1, but since the middle of March, it’s now between 8 a.m-6 p.m. For downstream traffic, peak traffic is between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.
Comcast also said there’s been a 40% increase in mobile data over Wifi and a 20% decline in LTE data on its phones. That can be attributed to Comcast making Wifi hotspots free around the nation to all through June 30.
As the numbers began rising in March, Gumbs said data traffic has plateaued from an initial spike, which he attributes to more people settling into working from home as opposed to transitioning to it a month ago. “We’ve been in this environment for about six to seven weeks,” Gumbs said. “From March 15 and beyond, we haven’t seen any significant acceleration in usage from that time. But it’s up clearly (from) PRE-COVID-19.”
Comcast has done its share to keep customers entertained. Beginning March 20, Nbcuniversal has released movies ondemand for a 48-hour rental period.the latest movie, “Trolls World Tour,” was released April 10, the same day it was scheduled to be released in theaters. Comcast also announced this week that it extended its policy of no late fees or disconnecting anyone’s service through June 30. It also continued to allow free Wifi at its hotspots as well free access to subscription content.
With shelter-in-place laws remaining, Gumbs said he expects data usage to remain high.
“Our customers are all looking for ways to be entertained and to find ways to occupy their time,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to provide the best services to our customers as they need us now more than ever.”