Internet usage in Pakistan has increased by 15 per cent as the country adjusts to life under lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The spike has been observed due to increased online activities by educational institutions and businesses and, ‘work from home’ policy adopted by individuals and organizations, according to a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) press release.
PTA reaffirmed that there is sufficient internet capacity available in the country to meet the growing demands of the future.
Moreover, PTA has been closely monitoring the internet usage patterns so as to ensure that fast & efficient telecom services remain available to the consumers in this difficult time, it said.
Telecom operators have taken an extra step to facilitate its users across Pakistan by providing information about COVID-19 along with uninterrupted service.
New packages have been introduced at a lower price point by all Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) to help people to stay and work from home.
Google has also introduced new features and resources to provide locally relevant information to Pakistani users.
These include expansion of #COVID19 SOS Alerts and Knowledge Panels on Google Search, as well as YouTube Information Panels.
Alongside this, the search engine giant is assisting the Ministry of National Health Services with ad inventory so they can provide timely, helpful information to the public.
Google has introduced a new collection of distance learning solutions, training, and resources to help teachers and students stay connected.
Increased internet and video-streaming usage have caused pressure on the network operators systems to counter this, Google will be temporarily defaulting all videos on YouTube to standard definition.
Netflix has also informed that in order to reduce its traffic on telecommunication networks in Pakistan during the COVID-19 outbreak it has developed ways to reduce the streaming service traffic on telecommunications networks by 25% while also maintaining the quality of service.
This will be applicable for 30 days and will be re-evaluated after this duration ends.