April 14, 2020, Kathmandu
The widespread global pandemic has led the government to implement lockdown in the country. In Nepal, the country has been in lockdown for the past three weeks due to coronavirus. With the lockdown implemented, the number of users who are engaged in professional work are working through home. This includes using video conferencing, conducting online classes, and watching video content.
The unexpected increase in internet traffic has prompted Nepal’s Internet service providers to request users to use the Internet in a timely and cost-effective way.
Well, it is not just the case of Nepal; Internet consumption has increased drastically worldwide. This has led to video platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, reducing video quality. Facebook has also reduced the quality of the video.
Report on Internet Consumption
In the meantime, the internet consumption data of Internet service provider companies in Nepal was published. The report indicates after a lockdown in Nepal; international traffic has increased by 25% while local traffic has increased by 35%.
However, the report does not include statistics for the mobile service provider of Nepal. According to the data, before the lockdown, a total of 334 Gbps of international internet bandwidth was consumed in Nepal, which is now increased by 84 Gbps.
Bandwidth consumption by the company
Google is the most considerable bandwidth consumed by international traffic. While Google used to drink 139Gbps of bandwidth before lockdown, it has increased to 155Gbps. As YouTube lies under Google, it is estimated to have high traffic. Youtube is the most used video platform in Nepal. And with the number of people searching Google for information about COVID-19, there is no doubt Google ranks the highest.
Facebook is the second most-consumed bandwidth. During the lockdown, the internet bandwidth consumed by Facebook has increased by 17% to 105 Gbps. Before the lockdown, internet bandwidth consumption was only around 90 Gbps. People have been using Facebook to connect with the people and for some small companies for video conferences.
In terms of percentages, the highest bandwidth consumption of the Internet is seen on Netflix, Gaming, and Tiktok. According to the data, internet consumption on all three platforms has increased by double the percentage of normal. Currently, Netflix, Gaming, and Tiktok in Nepal are consuming 13, 7, and 13 GB of bandwidth, respectively.
Cloud Service Providers
Similarly, cloud service providers such as Cloudflare, Akamai, Microsoft, Amazon have also increased Internet consumption. According to the statistics, cloud bandwidth, Akamai, Microsoft, and Amazon, Internet bandwidth consumption has increased by 50, 83, 67, and 50 percent, respectively.
The report shows there is an increase in the consumption of international bandwidth by about 30% in other services as well.
Local Internet Bandwidth
Statistics show that there is a significant rise in the use of local internet bandwidth along with international bandwidth. According to the statistics, the local bandwidth has increased by 35% than the reasonable period.
In general, the total 1152Gbps local bandwidth consumed by internet service providers in Nepal has now increased from 401Gbps to 1553 Gbps.
Google Cache
Google Cache is also being used the most. Google Cache is reported to be currently consumed at 591 Gbps. Google Cache consumption is likely to increase by 81 Gbps, which is about 16%.
IPTV
Similarly, the use of IPTV has increased drastically. As people are staying home, there has been an increase in the number of TVs watching at home. Internet bandwidth on NetTV has risen by 55%. Before lockdown, around 254 Gbps of local bandwidth was consumed. Currently, it is increased by 190 Gbps to 394 Gbps bandwidth on Net TV.
Another Platform cache
Facebook lies in third of local bandwidth consumption. Facebook’s cache has increased by 22%. Facebook is currently consuming 327Gbps of local internet bandwidth.
Netflix, Nepal Internet Exchange (NIE), and Akamai caches have the most significant increase in consumption of local bandwidth as a percentage. There is an increment of 157% of cache in Netflix, 116% in NIE, and 112% in Akamai.
Currently, these services are consuming 43, 4, and 99Gbps of local bandwidth, respectively. Similarly, there is an increment in domestic bandwidth consumption by 88%, while other services are likely to consume 81 Gbps of local bandwidth. This is an increment of 67% before the lockdown.