EE has released its Mobile Network data report from February to May 2020, tracking the changing trends and habits of the UK’s most used apps and services throughout lockdown.
According to EE, the increased use of communications apps and services across the UK has caused a shift in its busiest sites, with usage moving from cities to suburban areas as the nation continues to stay at home.
Zoom users on EE’s network increased five times during lockdown compared to earlier this year, and total data use on the platform has more than doubled. Social evening activities with friends and family have seen the daily peak usage shift from during the workday to 8pm. This increase, along with the use of other communication apps such as Houseparty, WhatsApp, Skype and Teams has resulted in a 45% increase in traffic for communication apps across the EE Network.
Fitness apps are seeing big spikes in data usage as people exercise outside more. Fitbit usage on EE’s mobile network on the other hand has fallen sharply, as the UK’s overall movement throughout the day has decreased; particularly with far fewer people making a daily commute.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT's Consumer Division said,"A 45% increase in traffic for communication apps like WhatsApp, Houseparty, Skype and Teams demonstrates the importance of staying in touch with friends, family and colleagues, while it’s also interesting to see how Network traffic is visibly shifting from cities to suburban areas."