Telus said in an email that it has an 'unprecedented volume of mass-calling events.' Phone and internet networks under pressure

And the telecommunications giants pledge their infrastructure can handle the sudden surge.īut lower-tech solutions are facing added pressure as well, with employees dialing into companywide conference calls and Canadians calling government agencies for information on the pandemic. (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)īell, Rogers and Telus all acknowledged their networks are experiencing higher-than-normal traffic. 'You don't really think about it.'Ĭorporate telecommunication technology is typically built with a higher capacity, with greater speeds for more concurrent users than consumer-grade products.Īdults and children at home are both adding traffic to home Wi-Fi networks. At his normal workplace, 'it's all set up,' he said. The massive shift is serving as a giant technological experiment, testing bandwidth limits and telephone network capacities as users hold virtual meetings, share files and stream audio and video content.Ĭorreia usually works in a studio, where internet connectivity is seamless.

He's among countless Canadians following the advice of public health experts and telecommuting during the COVID-19 crisis. The video call repeatedly froze.Ĭorreia, whose music is featured in TV commercials and films, said it took him 'a few hours' to send a one-gigabyte file on Wednesday. 'It just chugs and it's very slow,' he said on FaceTime. It would be excellent if we as consumers had an easy means to view our consumption independently, however one would need to run all traffic through one's own router for that tally.Temporarily working from his Toronto home, music composer Igor Correia has run into an unexpected challenge: it takes an awfully long time to upload his work. Telus has stated the 95% of their customers would be under the caps they have imposed. While I agree the OP consumption of 585 GB is extraordinary, usage up to the range of 50 - 60 GB per month without streaming, should be common. The peak of 257 was from a friend coming to do a major download on my faster internet connection, and the October high was for the update to my computer operating system and phones and tablets. We do not use the internet for work, though. In our household, we have 2 - 3 users (one on a tablet only), no streaming video, but a fair number of web page accesses. My use pattern fits your description, but I see about 2 to 3 times the data volumes you describe, which is why I suggested your family use is very conservative. I do it often if I have not sufficiently proofread my posts! Can edit a submitted post using the down arrow or caret in the upper right hand corner of your post any time you wish.

Telus internet usage monitor