Kathmandu: Consumption of internet bandwidth has increased by about 30 percent more than usual after the prohibitory order was imposed in various cities of the country including Kathmandu Valley. The Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal (ISPAN) has said that the use of the Internet has increased as more people are living at home.
According to the ISPAN, bandwidth usage has increased by 25 to 30 percent. With the prohibitory order imposed in various districts, including the Valley, many are using the Internet to pass the time. Nepal normally consumes 800 to 1000 Gbps bandwidth. It is estimated that bandwidth consumption is currently between 1000 and 1250 Gbps.
Under normal circumstances, internet usage is more from 6 pm to 10 pm. However, as most people in the cities are now indoors, ISPAN estimates that the demand will not be much different even during peak hours than during the day.
Internet bandwidth consumption had increased by up to 50 percent after the lockdown in April last year. The number of internet users has skyrocketed since the lockdown. According to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority, before the lockdown, there were 218.52 million internet subscribers in February, but now there are 254.19 million.
According to various internet service providers, the number of ‘Fiber to the Home’ (FTTH) users has skyrocketed during this period.
Last year, the number of people choosing mobile broadband internet technology was higher. During the epidemic, fiber internet has attracted customers at the same rate as mobile phone users. Experts say that internet customers have been added as ‘work from home’ flourishes in the epidemic.