Over the course of two weeks, Ohio library internet traffic dropped from daily peaks over 8 Gigabits per second down to brief spikes that barely top 1 Gig (a picture). But while OPLIN’s bandwidth use took a dive, other companies are struggling to keep up with the surge in demand. Boosted by free trials, streaming services saw a big spike in sign-ups last week. In Europe and Asia, where the pandemic is more advanced, companies are taking steps. Will we see those same measures in the U.S.?
- Facebook to cut video streaming quality in virus-hit Europe [Reuters] “Streaming video can account for two-thirds of traffic on fixed and mobile networks.”
- Netflix, YouTube cut video quality in Europe after pressure from EU official [Ars Technica] “Users can still manually adjust the quality of any video they watch on a computer, TV, or mobile device. Making 480p [DVD quality] the default would still reduce overall broadband-data usage significantly, even if many users switch to higher resolutions.”
- Game downloads will be throttled to manage internet congestion [TechCrunch] “Don’t worry, though, it won’t affect your ping.”
- FCC opens up more spectrum to keep mobile phones working during coronavirus pandemic [ZDNet] “You may be worried about there being enough internet to go around thanks to the coronavirus pushing us into our homes, but mobile phones are also facing a potential bandwidth shortage.”
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Calabrese, Michael. “Solving the ‘Spectrum Crunch’ Unlicensed Spectrum on a High-Fiber Diet.” Computer & Internet Lawyer, vol. 31, no. 6, June 2014, pp. 15–28.
- McPherson, Doug. “Video Streaming Sees 450% Jump; High-Quality Content Driving the Trend.” Response, vol. 26, no. 7, Apr. 2018, p. 6.
- Perez, Matt. “AT&T Becomes First To Lift Fees For Going Over Data Caps Ahead Of Coronavirus Quarantines.” Forbes.Com, Mar. 2020, p. N.PAG.
