Netflix and YouTube have agreed to reduce the quality of streaming video to ease the burden on broadband networks caused by the coronavirus epidemic. After an EU call, video content streamed via YouTube will only be available in standard definition for the next 30 days, as opposed to high definition or 4K. Netflix has announced that it will decrease its transmission rates for an equivalent period, thus reducing the platform's data consumption by 25%. Although providers insist that the infrastructure can cope with traffic fluctuations, the EU is concerned that networks could collapse due to content streaming, online gaming and remote work caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Internet connection Coronavirus
Home broadband is well equipped to handle late-night spikes, but social distancing measures introduced by governments around the world are forcing citizens to party at home, further exacerbating these periods of heavy traffic. Scott Petty, technical director of British telecommunications company Vodafone, said peak traffic is no longer limited to afternoons, but now runs from noon to 9 p.m. Meanwhile, Telecom Italia posted a 75% increase in Italian data traffic over the weekend, with online games like Fortnite and Call of Duty accounting for a large part of the jump. According to Theyry Breton, a European commissioner responsible for digital policy, telecommunications companies, content platforms and users share a "common responsibility to take measures to ensure the proper functioning of the Internet" during quarantine periods. Breton held talks with the CEOs of Netflix, Alphabet and YouTube, and obtained the cooperation of the streaming platforms. "Following discussions between Commissioner Thierry Breton and Reed Hastings, and given the extraordinary challenges posed by the coronavirus, Netflix has decided to start lowering bitrates on all of our broadcasts in Europe," a Netflix spokesperson said. YouTube echoed the sentiment, confirming that it "has also committed to temporarily switching all EU traffic to standard definition by default." Neither of these platforms has yet confirmed if the jam prevention measures will be implemented in other regions, such as North America. via Reuters