MTS president says the carrier is seeing ‘serious changes in the structure of consumption of mobile Internet traffic’
COVID-19 continues to spread globally, and networks around the world are working double-time trying to keep up with the unprecedented influx of traffic as work and school transitions to the home and friends and families limit their socializing to the virtual world. For one service provider, Russia’s MTS, memes and funny videos appear to be contributing substantially to network congestion.
The telecom giant found that its overload issues were caused by users sending memes, funny videos and other “heavy” data, resulting in the provider pleading with users to find the willpower to stop. The influx of this type of content, when combined with then overall influx of internet traffic, according to MTS, is overburdening its networks.
In a letter posted on the company’s website, MTS President Alexei Kornya acknowledged the importance of “memes and keeping in good spirits,” but added that it is also crucial “to be responsible about using content online.”
“This does not mean that you need to refuse to watch movies online or participate in video conferences as part of remote work,” Kornya’s letter read. “I’m talking about the fact that in the current situation, you can refrain, for example, from sending funny, but ‘heavy’ video messages to dozens of contacts.”
While Russia is not under lockdown, a large number of companies in the country have adopted telecommuting as a way to avoid any spread of the virus.
MTS currently has 80 million customers and clients, and like most carriers around the world right now, is experiencing a considerable increase in the amount of data being used, particularly in larger cities. The carrier also recently said that it will not count traffic to some educational and cultural platforms against users’ internet consumption packages, and its Smart University team has developed “online intensives” for high school students, available for free.
