Liverpool v Spurs and Call of Duty drive highest internet data record
Average household internet usage has increased by 50 per cent this year according to data by internet provider TalkTalk.
And December 16 saw the highest ever data usage peak of 7.63Tb/s on the network, with traffic largely driven by a combination of football including Liverpool vs Spurs on Amazon Prime and the release of Call of Duty.
The analysis showed that it was towns outside the capital seeing the highest data usage increases.
Residents of the West Yorkshire town, Halifax, saw a record-breaking year-on-year increase of 58 per cent. The neighbouring East Yorkshire town, Hull, closely followed with a 55 per cent rise.
Internet usage in the UK has dramatically increased as a result of two national lockdowns. Many homes have become offices, whilst Zoom became a highly popular way of staying connected with friends and family and streaming services have been key to keeping people entertained.
Lockdown helped inspire a new generation of silver surfers as the data revealed the over 75s internet usage rose by 52 per cent year-on-year – the steepest rise across all generations.
Gary Steen, managing director of Technology said: “2020 has accelerated the digital-first lifestyle and the increase in usage we’ve seen this year is just the beginning.”
”We expect additional network peaks to happen throughout the Christmas period – particularly on Boxing Day, as live football coupled with new devices being connected to the internet and larger gaming downloads driving up demand,” he concluded.