OTTAWA — In the third installment of its series of reports looking at network traffic volumes during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) says Canadians continued to use telecom services in June and July at higher rates than before Covid-19.
“The gradual relaxation of mobility restrictions across the country are reflected in the increase in mobile network traffic, with median wireless traffic exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels. Meanwhile, despite some businesses and public spaces reopening, wireline traffic volumes continue to show that many Canadians are still relying heavily on home internet services to stay connected to their workplaces, families, and friends,” reads the report, which was released Wednesday.
Based on updated traffic patterns for June and July, CWTA says Canada’s communications infrastructure has kept pace with ongoing changes in demand for telecom services.
“Canadian networks remain impressively resilient, thanks largely to the proactive manner in which they are being operated, expanded and enhanced by Canada’s facilities-based carriers,” reads the report.
Facilities-based network operators surveyed for the report include Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw/Freedom, Videotron, SaskTel and Tbaytel.
Among the data highlights of the new CWTA report, Managing Networks in Unprecedented Times – Part 3, are the following:
- Throughout June and July, wireline home Internet traffic was as much as 21.1% higher for downloads and 44.4% higher for uploads compared to pre-Covid-19 baseline volumes. While this is a moderation of traffic volumes compared to the prior three months, it still represents higher traffic than before the pandemic started.
- In late July, based on median changes in usage, mobile data download traffic surpassed pre-Covid levels by 14.6%, while upload traffic was 27.7% higher than pre-Covid levels. This continues the trend of increasing usage of mobile services since the early days of the pandemic.
- Voice call minutes on wireless networks also increased by as much as 40.1% in June and 34.4% in July, compared to pre-Covid-19 baseline volumes. While voice usage decreased by a small amount in July, this continued an overall trend of high usage that was evident throughout March, April and May.
The full report can be accessed here.
