In times of corona isolation, the Internet is used even more than it is anyway. The Swiss could soon face an officially ordered Netflix stop.
- Because of the corona pandemic * , we are advised to leave your own four walls as rarely as possible.
- At home, many use the Internet and streaming services such as “ Netflix ” to distract them.
- The Swiss are therefore already threatened to stop the provider.
Zurich / Bern - What should you do if you are forced to sit around at home all day? Because of the current corona crisis , some people are currently not allowed to leave their own four walls to protect themselves from infection. But at some point the last corner is cleaned or the last book is read and the ceiling threatens to fall on your head.
The Internet can remedy this - but if everyone decides to distract themselves in Worldwideweb at the same time, doesn't the data network quickly reach its limits ? At least the Swiss could soon face an officially prescribed Netflix stop .
More data traffic through corona isolation
An average of ten percent more data traffic - according to the operator of the world's largest internet node DE-CIX, this was last recorded. Video conference data traffic is said to have increased by half within seven days. This can probably be explained primarily by the change to home office in some companies for reasons of infection protection * in front of Corona.
However, some people worry that the use of video streaming services could soon clog the Internet. As the dpa reports, the EU Commission has already contacted Netflix for this reason. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton is said to have spoken to Netflix boss Reed Hastings about ways to reduce the burden. An automatic adjustment of the image quality would be conceivable, for example. In Switzerland, it is said that there have recently been massive disruptions in the communication networks.
In the corona crisis: Disruptions in Swiss communication networks
As the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports, after home office start and school closings in the Swisscom network, there were always interruptions in mobile and landline calls. The largest telecommunications company in the country sees the reason for this due to the enormously increased burden. It is said that there are still reserves in the data network at the moment, but since the usage behavior of the customers is not predictable, one cannot rule out a selective overload.
Swisscom appeals to Swiss customers
"We are working intensively on expanding capacity and are asking our customers to use the telecommunications networks in a reasonable and responsible manner," Swisscom has already appealed to its customers. At the moment, the priority was "systemically relevant" business customers who perceive "a central service in the national supply".
The General Secretariat of the Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (Uvek) also says that data-intensive services such as the transmission of video files should be used "cautiously". Translated, that means: Those who hang out on Netflix all day hinder the work of larger corporations or companies because they could take away their data capacity.
Is Switzerland facing a Netflix stop?
In extreme cases, the authorities could even pull the ripcord. "If serious bottlenecks arise, the Confederation has the option of restricting or blocking non-supply-related services," the Swiss Federal Council has already cited.
So if you want to prevent a forced Netflix stop in Switzerland at some point, you should probably consider a few other employment opportunities in the near future. Perhaps there is still one or two unread books or one or two woolen mice that could still be removed.
The corona virus has not only reached our neighbors in Switzerland, but has long since reached all of Europe. In Germany, Chancellor Merkel has already addressed the population via television in the current crisis.
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* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editors network.