Internet traffic surges by a third in Saudi Arabia under social distancing

Internet traffic surges by a third in Saudi Arabia under social distancing
(Screengrab: Youtube.com.sa)
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Updated 25 March 2020
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Internet traffic surges by a third in Saudi Arabia under social distancing

Internet traffic surges by a third in Saudi Arabia under social distancing
  • YouTube was responsible for the single greatest use of bandwidth in the Kingdom

RIYADH: There has been a surge in the use of mobile and fixed internet services in Saudi Arabia since precautionary social-distancing measures began to be introduced in the Kingdom to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The Saudi Communication and Information Technology Commission said the average daily consumption of data in February was 33 percent higher than a year ago.

YouTube was responsible for the single greatest use of bandwidth in the Kingdom, accounting for an estimated 22.5 percent of total daily data consumption. Facebook was second, with 8.1 percent, followed by the PlayStation Network (7.8 percent), Snapchat (7.6 percent) and Netflix (6.2 percent).

The increasing numbers of employees working from home, students using distance learning options, and private- and public-sector organizations providing more services online during the pandemic have added to the increase in internet traffic.