21581 - SCTE Broadband August2022 COMPLETE v1

22 Vol. 44 No. 3 - September 2022 Issue industry news Return to normalcy and unprecedented temperatures leads to huge data usage n Virgin Media O2 data shows sun-loving customers in Northern Ireland hitting the beaches in the highest droves as Brits log off early in response to soaring temperatures n Record breaking spikes recorded at festivals and sports events, with Wimbledon traffic up 50% from pre-pandemic levels during the Championships n Upstream traffic on Virgin Media O2’s broadband network fell by 12.3% as people head outdoors n Virgin Media O2 is upgrading the UK’s summer experiences by deploying temporary mast sites in key hotspots to boost network capacity and coverage, minimising outages n In the past 12 months, over 34,000 seaside and coastal postcodes were upgraded with 4G capacity and over 22,000 with 5G capacity Virgin Media O2 has released its latest network data showing massive spikes in traffic at events and popular coastal resorts as the UK records the hottest day ever. The converged network operator is upgrading the UK’s summer experiences by investing more than ever in keeping customers connected – either with temporary sites at key events or via upgrading 4G sites across the country. Battling the heatwave With temperatures reaching record highs last month, coastal areas in Northern Ireland including Portrush and Portstewart saw the biggest spikes in network traffic compared to average levels over the previous month, as sun-seekers took advantage of the hotter weather. Meanwhile in England, coastal areas including Skegness and Great Yarmouth Town were amongst the busiest places for overall mobile network traffic across the UK, with both jumping into the top 5. Significant spikes in traffic were also seen at the Great Yorkshire Showground and in St Andrews as people flocked to the Great Yorkshire Show and golf’s British Open, from the 14th – 17th July. On Monday 18th July, as temperatures approached 40 degrees, the heatwave led hot and bothered home workers to log off early with network data suggesting the nation skipped afternoon video calls. Upstream traffic on Virgin Media’s broadband network fell by as much as 12.3% on Monday afternoon between 4 and 6pm compared with just a few weeks ago. Monday evening’s download traffic was also down 15.2% between 8 and 10pm on the same levels last month as the country turned off devices in sweltering living rooms.