Verizon\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that data loads for video games on its network increased 75% week-over-week, VPN increased 34%, web traffic increased 20%, and video 12%.<\/p>\n Just recently,\u00a0YouTube and Amazon Prime announced they will sacrifice streaming quality in the EU to help avert internet gridlock as tens of millions of Europeans. Amazon Prime followed has also teamed up on this initiative, saying it supported the need for careful management of telecom services to ensure they can handle the increased internet demand with so many people now at home full-time due to COVID-19.\u00a0Netflix said it would reduce bit rates, which determine the quality and size of its audio and video files, across all its streams in Europe for 30 days, in effect cutting its traffic on European networks by around 25%,\u00a0per Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts warn that reducing streaming rates may only give temporary relief and the dilemma of whether to discriminate between essential and non-essential traffic will resurface.<\/p>\n Not all the sectors are equal in the face of this crisis. Some industries are experiencing a significant increase in traffic, while others are seeing a major drop in digital visits. The chart below compares last week\u2019s traffic (March 8-15) with the average of the first six weeks of the year (pre-Covid-19 acceleration in western countries).<\/p>\nAffected traffic<\/h1>\n
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