Telecom

Operators collaborate to help sustain the networks

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Operators collaborate

There has been an explosion of traffic in both fixed and mobile telecommunications in recent weeks, primarily as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Traffic through IP networks has seen increases of almost 40% while mobile use has increased by around 50% in voice and 25% in data. WhatsApp has increased 5-fold in recent days. This is all because people are checking the news more often and passing information on to friends and family. Also, large numbers of people from around the globe are now working from home. The increased use of teleworking has also been reflected in the network: the traffic of remote work tools like Skype and Webex has risen 4-fold.

Operators, Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Grupo MÁSMÓVIL and Grupo Euskaltel are doing all they can to increase the capacity of the networks by implementing more equipment to service it. They are also increasing the capabilities of already existing equipment, however such measures are not immediately effective. So, in order to ensure service quality and excellent connectivity, these improvements should be joined by a smart and responsible use of the network and the resources it provides.

From this, operators have come up with some recommendations.

  • Only download the documents or files that you really need, and if they can wait, do it at night or in the “off-peak hours” with less traffic (between two and four in the afternoon and between eight in the evening and eight in the morning).
  • Whenever possible, do not send heavy files – videos, presentations… Send links or routes to where they are stored. And, if it is essential to send them, compress them first or give them a format that weighs less (from ppt to pdf, for example).
  • Use collaboration tools like Teams or Slack, and if you can, don’t always do it with video.
  • Avoid massive e-mails.
  • Use your landline phone instead of your mobile phone to make calls when possible.
  • And, above all, optimise the traffic for what you really need: email, remote work, conferences, school and education applications, access to information… reserve leisure tools, video games, streaming, live video playback for the off-peak hours.

The first European country and the third in the world when it comes to fibre optic infrastructure, with one of the best mobile networks, is Spain. It is this network and the collaborative efforts from operators that ensure that functioning potential is maximized. This makes the idea of self-isolation and communication more manageable/efficient for work and personal matters. Utilizing networks in a rational and reasonable way allows individuals, service providers and companies to have access to good quality communication that is sustainable over time.