Because of the corona virus, people stay at home in Germany. Two popular streaming services reduce picture quality. Netflix is threatened by Corona?
- The corona virus * has also reached Germany
- Because most people are at home, the Internet is threatened
- In Switzerland, there is even a threat of a Netflix stop
Update of March 25, 2020: As a result of the global corona crisis , user behavior with video streaming services such as Netflix has skyrocketed . Some networks were quickly overloaded, and there was even a threat of a Netflix stop in Switzerland . Netflix and Youtube reacted - and reduced picture quality in Europe.
But is that really necessary? Leonard Brahm, SEO of the international film and series database "JustWatch", does not believe that a Netflix stop in Germany is currently necessary. The increased user behavior on video streaming services in Germany has grown by 45 percent due to the global corona pandemic, he reveals exclusively to “fr.de”. In Switzerland, where there was even talk of a Netflix stop, the figure is 79 percent.
Netflix stop in Germany because of Corona? Figures in Spain and France are impressive
Regarding Switzerland, Brahm therefore emphasizes: "I don't think it is necessary to stop Netflix due to the increased user behavior." For comparison: In Spain, user behavior has been with Netflix and since the outbreak of the new Sars-CoV-2 corona virus Co. rose by a whopping 187 percent, in France by 121 percent. "Compared to Switzerland, that's absolutely okay," says Brahm.
"JustWatch" works in 40 countries as a search engine for the online availability of series and films. The company is based in Berlin.
Corona pandemic: Netflix and Youtube reduce picture quality - network congestion threatens
Update of March 20, 2020: Two major video streaming services are responding to concerns about network congestion in the Corona crisis : Netflix and Youtube are throttling their data volumes in Europe to relieve the networks. For example, YouTube will initially deteriorate the image quality for 30 days: Videos should generally be transmitted in standard resolution instead of HD quality. Netflix plans to reduce data throughput by a quarter during this time.
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton , who initiated the measures, welcomed the approach of the streaming providers. There is overall concern in Europe that increased homework and entertainment use could clog networks. So far, Internet providers have assured that they can shoulder the increase. However, the bottleneck could rather be the local network connection at the places of residence. The EU Commission is concerned that the utilization of the networks allows working from home and access to educational offers.
Coronavirus pandemic: Switzerland threatens to stop Netflix
Update of March 18, 2020: Concerns about the load on the Internet are spreading to Brussels. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton spoke to Netflix boss Reed Hastings about ways to reduce the burden, according to the agency. Among other things, it was about the idea of automatically switching the image quality from HD to standard resolution under heavy load. The Commission is calling on the streaming platforms as a whole to work with Internet providers and adjust their data throughput so as not to slow down work from home.
First report from March 18, 2020: Zurich - Rarely has mankind relied so much on good WiFi in their own four walls as in these times. In order to slow the Coronavirus * pandemic, people are staying at home all over Germany - home office instead of office, streaming services as an evening activity instead of the usual trip to the bar or the cinema. But that means a new challenge for the Internet infrastructure. In Switzerland , the communication networks are at a stop, which is why there is even a threat of a Netflix stop . Does the internet hold up in Germany?
Corona chaos: does the internet hold up in Germany? Netflix stop in Switzerland threatens
What would people do without the Internet during the Corona crisis *? Some countries already have to ask themselves this question. In Italy, for example, data traffic has skyrocketed - video games are the main reason. Streaming services such as Netflix are likely to have more visitors these days than ever before. "We just don't know how the infrastructure will handle it all," American communications expert Tom Wheeler told The New York Times.
Initial tests in Switzerland have shown that the communication networks are already at the ready. Swisscom, the network of the country's largest telecommunications company, failed the final test on Monday. There were interruptions in calls, and the data network stumbled rather than flow. There is an impending overload - and an interim Netflix stop.
Corona virus: Internet congestion in Switzerland - because of Netflix and Co.?
"We currently see enough capacity in the data network infrastructure," said a Swisscom spokeswoman for the "Neue Züricher Zeitung". However, the usage behavior of the customers is hardly predictable, a selective overload cannot be excluded. An appeal from Swisscom to the customers shows how serious the situation is in the age of the corona virus : "We are working intensively on expanding capacity and are asking our customers for sensible and responsible use of the telecommunications networks."
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Translated means: Please do not spend too much time on Netflix - or on the Playstation. Otherwise the networks could be blocked for exactly these things. The general secretariat of the Department for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication confirmed that talks between the federal government and the telecommunications companies have already taken place.
Internet overloaded in Switzerland - Netflix stop due to corona crisis?
The demand in Switzerland is clear. Despite the forced home office during the corona virus *, the networks should be used with caution. Otherwise, according to the threat from the General Secretariat, "the federal government has the option of restricting or blocking non-supply-related services".
Is there a similar fiasco in Germany ? The world's largest Internet node DE-CIX, based in Frankurt, reports that the average data traffic has recently increased by ten percent. Traffic through video conferencing has increased by 50 percent within seven days. But one is prepared for the increase. Deutsche Telekom also gives the all-clear: "We are currently not seeing any significant increase in data traffic," a spokesman for Deutsche Telekom AG told BR24. In addition, the "emergency and pandemic plans" had already been activated in January. The main goal is to "ensure and maintain the operation of the infrastructure". So exactly what threatens to fail in Switzerland.
By Nico Scheck, with material from dpa
* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Rubric list image: © picture alliance / dpa / Nicolas Armer
