The Internet May Be the Next Victim of the Coronavirus Pandemic - Netflix, Google, Apple and Amazon React
With an estimated one billion people staying, working far away or just watching online exhibitions throughout the day, telecommunications infrastructure is under good pressure. Experts and companies mostly say that the opportunity is far from crucial but, however, the European Union has taken the opportunity to hit the web very badly. Netflix, Google, Apple and Amazon have begun to limit HD video streaming to reduce the use of knowledge in Europe.
Coronavirus Crisis Damages European Internet Infrastructure
The epicenter of the coronavirus disaster has completely migrated from China to Europe today. Italy bears most of the burden, with the best number of casualties to date, but Spain, France and other international locations are also struggling as a result of the rapidly increasing pandemic. The government has reacted by imposing curfews on residents, closing borders, closing companies and usually imposing many restrictions on ordinary life to be able to gradually unfold the virus and "flatten the curve".The main measure that people are regularly asked to absorb is to stay and stay away from futile trips outside the home. Thus, it is not surprising that web utilization in Europe has increased, with staff working remotely, students studying online and everyone playing films. This brought European telecommunications companies, which were similar to Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom, to raise alarms and the EU quickly reacted.
EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, revealed on Twitter that he had discussed with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and requested that the streaming service reduce its broadcasts in Europe from high-quality high-definition video to reduce decisions. One hour of HD video from Netflix requires about 3GB of knowledge and one hour of video with normal definition (SD) requires about 1GB of knowledge so that transfer can minimize the large amount of bandwidth used.Important phone conversation with @ReedHastings, CEO of @Netflix— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) March 18, 2020
To beat #COVID19, we #StayAtHome
Teleworking & streaming help a lot but infrastructures might be in strain.
To secure Internet access for all, let’s #SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary.
Streaming Video Giants React
According to current estimates, video streaming providers can contribute more than 60% of the world's web visitors, with Netflix alone responsible for 12% of the bandwidth of online bandwidth. The company is the main operator available in the market to announce that they must take steps to help with the situation in Europe."Given the extraordinary challenges raised by coronavirus - Netflix has decided to start reducing the bit rate in all our streams in Europe for 30 days," a Netflix spokesman said. "We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on the European network by around 25% while also ensuring good quality services for our members."
Google also reduces bitrate on its subsidiary Youtube, where about one billion hours of content material is watched every day. This was reported to occur after European Union Commissioner Breton spoke with CEO Alphabet Sundar Pichai and Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki. "We made a commitment to temporarily divert all traffic in the EU to the standard definition by default," the company said.
Amazon has also taken comparable actions with its Prime Video service. "We support the need for careful telecommunications service management to ensure they can handle increasing internet demand with so many people now at home full time because of Covid-19," an Amazon spokesman said. "Prime Video works with local authorities and internet service providers where needed to help reduce network congestion."
Disney has delayed the intentional launch of Disney Plus streaming services in France at the request of the original authorities while continuing the plan in various European markets. He also stated that it would reduce total bandwidth usage by at least 25% in all markets that launched Disney Plus on March 24, 2020. This was reported to be achieved in response to EU requests to "ensure the smooth functioning of broadband. infrastructure."
According to research from European customers, Apple has reacted to the situation by reducing the quality of Apple Plus TV streaming in Europe.