New network data published by EE has shed light on the changing patterns of the British public during the coronavirus pandemic, in particular the migration of data traffic from city centers to the suburbs. While data consumption fell 58% in central London, that figure rose 120% in Stevenage and Hereford, with travelers staying at home. Similar to the figures released by rival O2, EE has also seen an increase in voice traffic on its network. Calls longer than five minutes doubled and voice usage increased by 45%, bucking long-term trends.
mobile data trends
The use of communication apps in general, such as WhatsApp, Zoom and Skype, has increased fivefold during the lockdown, with people trying to keep in touch with friends and family. The statistics also show that the demand for online shopping services has returned to a more normal level now that storage has ceased, while the use of exercise apps has doubled due to the closure of gyms. However, Fitbit usage has halved as people move less, while demand for navigation apps has fallen. "The lockdown has clearly brought about big changes to the way our mobile network is used," said Marc Allera, CEO of BT Consumer. "A 45% increase in traffic from communication apps like WhatsApp, Houseparty, Skype and Teams demonstrates the importance of staying in touch with friends, family and colleagues, while it's interesting to see how network traffic is visibly moving." from cities to suburban areas." "Fitness apps are seeing big increases in data usage as we train more outside and online grocery orders have increased dramatically at first, and are now coming back to the new “normal.” What is clear is that the role of a highly reliable, high-speed mobile network has never been more important to our customers, and I am delighted that the EE network continues to provide excellent performance even in these times. difficult." Overall, the UK's communications infrastructure has faced increasing demand for productivity, entertainment and communications applications. However, with movement restrictions meaning that most of this data traffic is handled by home Wi-Fi rather than mobile networks, operators are likely to see a reduction in roaming and corporate revenue.