Lockdown Changes Traffic Patterns on Virgin Media’s Network

Upstream traffic on Virgin Media’s broadband network is now peaking on weekday afternoons for the first time, a change the ISP attributed to home working and schooling.

Traditionally evenings after 6 pm are the busiest times on broadband networks and when you might have seen your broadband speeds dip due to congestion. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says that advertised broadband speeds must be the speed at least 50% of customers can achieve during the crowded hours of 8 pm to 10 pm.

But Virgin Media’s analysis of traffic patterns on its network in January and February 2021 provides a snapshot of the way the pandemic has changed our lives. Upstream traffic on the network in the afternoons was up 35% compared to before the pandemic, as customers log onto Zoom meetings, send emails and upload files.

Downstream traffic has also increased during the third national lockdown. In January and February, with schools closed again, many employees still working remotely and temperatures hovering around freezing, Virgin Media customers downloaded 7.4 Gigabytes (GB) more data per day compared to the same period last year, before the lockdown, and 3.1GB per day more than during the first lockdown.

February also saw a new traffic peak on the network. On Thursday, 25 February, the average Virgin Media user consumed 20.77GB of data in the 24-hour period, 3.5GB more than the daily average in 2020. As with other traffic peaks, the download bonanza on 25 February was driven by the release of video game updates, in huge data bundles.

The season two updates of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone both launched that day. File sizes ranged from 10.5–26.5 GB for the full version of Black Ops Cold War and 16.2–20.8 GB for owners of the free-to-play Warzone.

Over the last year, Call of Duty and video game sensation Fortnite have been behind record traffic on Virgin Media’s cable network and also Openreach’s network.

While traffic on internet networks has been increasing by around 30% annually, as more of our entertainment shifts online, the increase in 2020 was unprecedented, driven by the coronavirus crisis and lockdowns that kept us all at home and in front of our computer screens.

Openreach, the infrastructure over which BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Vodafone and Zen deliver internet, reported that traffic on its network doubled in 2020, from 22,000 Petabytes (PT) in 2019 to 50,000PT.

TalkTalk reported that the average household internet usage on its network rose by 50% across the same period. Its most recent reported peak, on 16 December 2020, was attributed to an update for Call of Duty and football streaming on Amazon Prime.

Broadband providers have accommodated this surge in traffic without customers seeing much degradation in their connection's performance.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology and Information Officer at Virgin Media, said: “Our network is carrying more data than ever as consumers continue to adapt and embrace new technology that helps them work, learn, socialise and stay entertained from home.

“We’re committed to keeping up with demand and helping our customers stay connected at a time when our ultrafast and reliable services have never been more important to millions of people’s lives.”