With the advent of the pandemic, millions of organizations worldwide have had to change the way they do business abruptly. Of course, one of the key components they relied upon to make these significant changes involved their connectivity and digital services. Moving employees from working in a centralized location to disperse locations, sometimes across a fairly wide geographic location, has presented some notable challenges. Fortunately, service providers responsible for providing reliable connectivity have stepped up to the plate and have shown a high degree of ability to deliver essential communication services to companies where and when they need it.
Demand is Up and Changing
Communication companies all over the world are reporting increased demand for their services as billions of people have significantly changed their work schedules and routines for the past few months. Some reports of increased demand include:
- The US-based AT&T notes voice calls are up by 25%.
- Zoom, a video conferencing app, has seen a whopping 700% increase in remote workers usage.
- Telus, Canada’s largest wireless internet provider, reports an increase in text usage by 30%, data consumption has increased by 40%, along with voice traffic by 45%.
Interestingly, it’s not just the fact that overall demand is up, there is also a significant alteration all over the globe both in app usage and behavioral patterns. One example is found in on-demand subscription video services. Companies providing these types of services have noted an unusual demand during the middle of the day, vs. the traditional demand they typically incur during evening hours and on weekends.
The Response from Service Providers
The sudden shift in the usage of digital and communication services provided an outstanding test of whether service providers could meet a sudden and significant challenge. The good news to report is that they immediately took unprecedented steps to rise to the challenge and successfully delivered mainly unfaltering performance.
One of how service providers responded to the demands brought on by the pandemic, was by way of extensive collaboration efforts with other companies they normally considered as competitors. One such example is Dish Network and their decision to give a spectrum boost to US-based AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to help bolster their network capacity. Other companies found ways to provide beneficial services to their customers who were met with sudden challenges of their own. One example is found in the UK, where Sky, BT, and Virgin Media all decided to provide NHS (National Health Service) workers with call, text, and data access at no extra cost. The purpose behind their generous donation was to allow those in the medical field to offer remote consultations to their patients. Other companies are trying to keep individuals connected by expanding free Wi-Fi spots, pledging to continue services for those unable to pay their bill, and withholding late charge fees.
The Future Still Looks Solid
While the global pandemic has challenged both individuals and businesses, along with many other organizations, the future of communications all over the globe looks solidly positioned, thanks to the remarkably agile efforts of those whose business it is to deliver such services. As businesses and other organizations try to focus on how they can still deliver exceptional products and services to their own clients, it’s a major relief to know the services that provide the backbone of their communication with others has met and risen above, even the challenge presented by a global pandemic.