Comcast : COVID-19 Network Update

NETWORK USAGE

We engineer the network for peak capacity to handle spikes and shifts in usage patterns. We regularly invest in our network and have thousands of engineers nationally and locally who work to add capacity where it's needed.

'Primetime' on our network (the busiest time of day) looks dramatically different today as the nation settles into new patterns. Since March 1, our peak traffic is up 32% overall and up 60% in some areas, but still within the overall capacity of our network. Downstream peak appears to be moving from 9 PM to between 7 PM - 8 PM, while upstream peak is moving from 9 PM to between 8 AM and 6 PM in most cities.

Our network traffic is beginning to plateau in early COVID-19 markets. Network traffic increases in the first cities that issued stay-at-home orders such as Seattle and San Francisco are beginning to plateau.

Work from home is driving new application usage growth. Weekday usage is up, driven primarily by VoIP, Video Conferencing, and VPN as more people move to a work and learn from home environment.

• VoIP and Video Conferencing is up 212%
• VPN traffic is up 40%

Entertainment, streaming, and gaming continue to dominate. Evening and weekend usage is up with customers significantly increasing the amount of time spent watching television and gaming; peak downstream traffic continues to be in the evenings and weekends nationally, on average.

• Gaming downloads are up 50% generally and 80% during new releases
• There is a 38% increase in streaming and web video consumption
• On television, we are seeing similar patterns:
  • Linear video consumption increased 4 hours to 64 hours per week
  • Video OnDemand hitting record highs, up 25% YOY
  • There has been a nearly 50% increase in Voice Remote requests for 'Free Movies'
  • We have seen Voice Remote queries top 50 million some days