By Vinod Samarawickrama
Internet usage in Sri Lanka has grown exponentially since mid-March as the coronavirus outbreak has compelled Sri Lankans to stay at home. I believe this trend in broadband usage is here to stay. During the lockdown, the average time spent on mobile broadband increased by one hour globally on an average basis.
There have been many behavioural changes as a result of Covid-19, many of which will revert when fear disappears, but the trend in terms of broadband usage is only likely to get stronger. The pandemic is accelerating the digitalisation of the economy, and the move from offline to online. It is enabling the people of Sri Lanka to increasingly use more e-services (e-leaning, e-commerce, etc.) and is enhancing the pace of digital transformation in the country.
Video is increasingly embedded in all forms of online content to become the main driver for the exponential growth in mobile data traffic. Online classrooms, online meetings/presentations, and video clips on social media are just a few examples of video traffic in data usage.
As per the Ericsson Mobility Report (June 2020 Edition), mobile traffic globally is expected to grow by 31% annually between 2019 and 2025. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, internet usage increased by 20-40% within a few weeks, as a result of mobility restrictions. Millions of Sri Lankans including office staff, academic staff, and students had to rely on their internet at home to work, learn, communicate, and entertain themselves.
The dramatic changes in human behavioural patterns have caused measurable changes in the usage of both fixed and mobile networks not only in Sri Lanka, but all over the world. As more people increasingly study and work from home, online education, virtual training, and virtual meetings and conferences are becoming the new reality. A new form of social interaction has appeared with both fixed and mobile broadband connectivity enabling a multitude of indoor entertainment activities as well as virtual meet-ups with friends and family, while being in the safety of our homes.
Given that many countries are facing lockdown or restricted travel situations and more and more people are working from home, traffic patterns on networks too are seeing unprecedented changes. There are significant shifts in the usage of both fixed and mobile networks worldwide. Traffic is shifting from city centres and office areas to residential and suburban areas. We are also seeing an increase in voice traffic across 2G, 3G, and 4G networks in many markets. In overall terms, one can observe more megabytes (MB) per user usage – that is, higher data volume transmission with more bandwidth allocated per user. People are spending more time online at home and as a result are generating more traffic per day. Most operators are experiencing a 10~40% increase in data traffic (both upload and download) on the mobile network.
In a time of crisis, information and communications are critical. Mobile networks are an essential part of the communications backbone that is enabling health workers, public safety officials, and critical businesses to stay connected during this time of global crisis. The world’s mobile networks are proving yet again that they can deliver the performance and reliability to support both consumers and enterprises in this hour of need. At Ericsson, we are working hard to ensure that we provide seamless connectivity for public services, businesses, and families in Sri Lanka and worldwide.
Together with network operators, Ericsson played a major role in the telecommunication field to enhance the quality of experience for users all over the world. Network re-planning and end-to-end re-dimensioning activities focusing on network design, capacity, performance, and traffic handling are carried out by Ericsson engineers to ensure that the customer experience from the network is not compromised. Proactive measures via machine learning-enabled capacity planning enables the service provider to identify and act on network bottleneck issues in advance. Application-based (e.g. web, chat, video) traffic handling is managed through service-aware configuration.
Ericsson has deployed solutions and services (e.g. virtual drive test) on networks that enable our customers to handle emergencies in an efficient manner. Network design and optimisation emergency services, underpinned by AI (artificial intelligence), allow customers to succeed in challenging ever-evolving situations, such as emergencies, including improved network performance and customer experience. In Sri Lanka, a 30-40% increase in data volume in our customer networks was observed.
Communications service providers’ response to Covid-19
So how are service providers responding to Covid-19? We are seeing service providers making the necessary changes in their data plans, either by increasing the "bucket size", allowing free usage for a limited time, or introducing new packages for work/study-related applications. And even as they respond to the current situation with speed and agility, some service providers are already planning to advance their investments in the networks to boost capacity to tackle the data upsurge the networks are experiencing.
The heroes
Even as the telecom industry globally is working together to handle the Covid-19 crisis, the heroes are our network engineers and field maintenance staff who continue to work relentlessly to restore the network faults and ensure availability of connectivity at all times, despite the challenges and difficult circumstances.
Let us continue to come together and acknowledge the power of 3G and 4G mobile broadband connectivity in Sri Lanka.
(The writer is the Managing Director and County Manager of Ericsson Sri Lanka and Maldives. His role entails providing leadership, driving business growth, and further deepening customer relationships with operators and regulators. He is also focused on nation-building initiatives through ICT innovation in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka)Network resilience enables digital literacy during Covid-19
30 Aug 2020
Network resilience enables digital literacy during Covid-19
30 Aug 2020
By Vinod Samarawickrama
Internet usage in Sri Lanka has grown exponentially since mid-March as the coronavirus outbreak has compelled Sri Lankans to stay at home. I believe this trend in broadband usage is here to stay. During the lockdown, the average time spent on mobile broadband increased by one hour globally on an average basis.
There have been many behavioural changes as a result of Covid-19, many of which will revert when fear disappears, but the trend in terms of broadband usage is only likely to get stronger. The pandemic is accelerating the digitalisation of the economy, and the move from offline to online. It is enabling the people of Sri Lanka to increasingly use more e-services (e-leaning, e-commerce, etc.) and is enhancing the pace of digital transformation in the country.
Video is increasingly embedded in all forms of online content to become the main driver for the exponential growth in mobile data traffic. Online classrooms, online meetings/presentations, and video clips on social media are just a few examples of video traffic in data usage.
As per the Ericsson Mobility Report (June 2020 Edition), mobile traffic globally is expected to grow by 31% annually between 2019 and 2025. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, internet usage increased by 20-40% within a few weeks, as a result of mobility restrictions. Millions of Sri Lankans including office staff, academic staff, and students had to rely on their internet at home to work, learn, communicate, and entertain themselves.
The dramatic changes in human behavioural patterns have caused measurable changes in the usage of both fixed and mobile networks not only in Sri Lanka, but all over the world. As more people increasingly study and work from home, online education, virtual training, and virtual meetings and conferences are becoming the new reality. A new form of social interaction has appeared with both fixed and mobile broadband connectivity enabling a multitude of indoor entertainment activities as well as virtual meet-ups with friends and family, while being in the safety of our homes.
Given that many countries are facing lockdown or restricted travel situations and more and more people are working from home, traffic patterns on networks too are seeing unprecedented changes. There are significant shifts in the usage of both fixed and mobile networks worldwide. Traffic is shifting from city centres and office areas to residential and suburban areas. We are also seeing an increase in voice traffic across 2G, 3G, and 4G networks in many markets. In overall terms, one can observe more megabytes (MB) per user usage – that is, higher data volume transmission with more bandwidth allocated per user. People are spending more time online at home and as a result are generating more traffic per day. Most operators are experiencing a 10~40% increase in data traffic (both upload and download) on the mobile network.
In a time of crisis, information and communications are critical. Mobile networks are an essential part of the communications backbone that is enabling health workers, public safety officials, and critical businesses to stay connected during this time of global crisis. The world’s mobile networks are proving yet again that they can deliver the performance and reliability to support both consumers and enterprises in this hour of need. At Ericsson, we are working hard to ensure that we provide seamless connectivity for public services, businesses, and families in Sri Lanka and worldwide.
Together with network operators, Ericsson played a major role in the telecommunication field to enhance the quality of experience for users all over the world. Network re-planning and end-to-end re-dimensioning activities focusing on network design, capacity, performance, and traffic handling are carried out by Ericsson engineers to ensure that the customer experience from the network is not compromised. Proactive measures via machine learning-enabled capacity planning enables the service provider to identify and act on network bottleneck issues in advance. Application-based (e.g. web, chat, video) traffic handling is managed through service-aware configuration.
Ericsson has deployed solutions and services (e.g. virtual drive test) on networks that enable our customers to handle emergencies in an efficient manner. Network design and optimisation emergency services, underpinned by AI (artificial intelligence), allow customers to succeed in challenging ever-evolving situations, such as emergencies, including improved network performance and customer experience. In Sri Lanka, a 30-40% increase in data volume in our customer networks was observed.
Communications service providers’ response to Covid-19
So how are service providers responding to Covid-19? We are seeing service providers making the necessary changes in their data plans, either by increasing the "bucket size", allowing free usage for a limited time, or introducing new packages for work/study-related applications. And even as they respond to the current situation with speed and agility, some service providers are already planning to advance their investments in the networks to boost capacity to tackle the data upsurge the networks are experiencing.
The heroes
Even as the telecom industry globally is working together to handle the Covid-19 crisis, the heroes are our network engineers and field maintenance staff who continue to work relentlessly to restore the network faults and ensure availability of connectivity at all times, despite the challenges and difficult circumstances.
Let us continue to come together and acknowledge the power of 3G and 4G mobile broadband connectivity in Sri Lanka.
(The writer is the Managing Director and County Manager of Ericsson Sri Lanka and Maldives. His role entails providing leadership, driving business growth, and further deepening customer relationships with operators and regulators. He is also focused on nation-building initiatives through ICT innovation in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka)Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!