Internet use soars amid lockdown
Greece has seen an increase of at least 50 percent in internet use in recent days following the government’s decision to restrict citizens’ movements to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, according to officials at the Digital Governance Ministry who indicated however that telecommunications networks are handling the strain so far.
The heads of the country’s four telecommunications service providers, OTE, Vodafone, Wind and Forthnet, are regularly updating the ministry’s leadership with data on daily internet usage, which is continuing to grow, Kathimerini understands.
According to data compiled by the Greek Internet Exchange, GR-IX, maximum usage surpassed 180 gigabits per second in the past few days, up from 140 Gbps last week and 120 Gbps before the imposition of restrictions on movement 10 days ago.
On Thursday afternoon – three days after the announcement of a full lockdown – GR-IX recorded a count of 210 Gbps, 75 percent higher than the average count before restrictions were imposed.
It is the first time GR-IX has recorded usage in excess of 200 Gbps and also one of the few times that afternoon usage has been greater than that in the morning, when workplace activity accounts for much of internet use.
