People are making more calls and using email less

Mobile network providers have noticed an increase in activity for both business voice calls and WiFi calls since lockdown measures have been in place.

A surge of up to 50 per cent in the number of phone calls being made over mobile and landline networks has put Britain’s telephone system under significant strain and led ministers to call for industry action to improve coverage of voice services.

The UK, Europe and US have all seen similar patterns in home mobile network usage. Check out some of the figures published:

• The number of calls made over the 02 network have surged by up to 50%
• According to a report by AT&T, voice calling is up 33% in the U.S. compared to three weeks ago. Instant messaging: up 63%. Text messaging: up 41%. Emailing: down 18%. Web browsing: down 5%
• Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica reported that both fixed and mobile telecommunications networks experienced a “traffic explosion” in March.
• Telefonica said that the increase in use of IP (Internet protocol) networks had increased by nearly 40 per cent after just a few days. Mobile voice use and data had also seen an increase, by 50 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

So as the good  old fashioned telephone call makes a comeback we recommend the following to maintain the best results for your business:

• Using landline phones instead of mobiles
• Restricting internet downloads (or waiting until off-peak hours)
• Avoiding sending large files, such as videos or presentations, where possible
• Avoiding mass e-mails
• Using collaborative work tools such as our unified communications to avoid video conference calls
• Prioritising traffic for important use, such as access to information, remote work and education applications, and reserving leisure use, live-streaming and game play for off-peak hours.

The UK regulatory body for telecommunications, OFCOM, has also issued advice to use landlines or WiFi calls where possible and lower the demands of their connection.