At the height of the first wave of corona, there were glitches in many parts of the country in data traffic on the network and on the telephony system, which resulted from huge domestic consumption • Senior official: "We are close to the critical threshold in the communications infrastructure"

• cellular antenna. The Ministry of Communications will open more frequencies

  Photo: 

  Oren Ben Hakun

• Minister of Communications Yoaz Handel

  Photo: 

  Photo: Mark Israel Salem

• Bezeq technician

  Photo: 

  Michelle Dot Com

This may not have been Israel's biggest problem with the Corona closure, but it could certainly repeat itself: severe disruptions in Internet supply and telephony services, due to the loads that are escalating under closure conditions. The Ministry of Communications warns that the script could be repeated in the next closure, if dropped, or simply this winter.

At the height of the first wave of corona, there were glitches in many parts of the country in data traffic on the network and the telephony system, which resulted from simultaneous home consumption, which was above and beyond the capacity of the old infrastructure. For example, according to Bezeq and HOT data, the first corona wave recorded a 24-18 percent surge in average data traffic for single cellular users. In addition, in the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors, unique failures in the mobile sector have been reported, as many of these populations use 2nd generation phones, while the infrastructures have been adapted for 3rd and 4th generation.

More on:

• Conspiracies Separate: Real Estate Minister announced 5G network deployment

Handel: "I'm getting into the 5G power layout"

• Fast Internet Revolution: Paving the way for optical fiber deployment

A senior official in the Ministry of Communications told Israel Today that Israel's infrastructures are in significant disrepair with the world, so the glitches are inevitable. "There is a real fear that communications infrastructures will not meet the loads in winter or in case of another closure," the source said. "We are close to the critical threshold in communications infrastructure. He said that due to the epidemic, very high rates of work and study from home are expected in the coming year, relying on the Internet and cellular networks.

To answer the problem as much as possible, Minister of Communications Yoaz Handel held a status assessment with the CEOs of large media companies yesterday (Thursday). Infrastructure that has not advanced enough in the last decade, "Handel said at the event," is a strategic gap that is being addressed now. This is a situation that requires order management, the alert is already here. It disturbs my rest. ”Company representatives noted that, given the situation, they are having difficulty meeting the time targets set for the 5th generation infrastructure.

Handel instructed them to use the tools at their disposal, such as antenna optimization to prepare for the challenge, and his office would release additional electromagnetic frequencies to cope with expected peak consumption. In addition, Handel has established a permanent military force to check the functioning of the communications systems at any given moment and to update them in the event of missing.