The COVID-19 virus is spreading further and further worldwide.
Beyond, of course, the health consequences and the impact on public life with the closing of educational facilities, the cancellations of major events and trade fairs, and more and more home office regulations – many people are now staying put at home.
This also has an impact on Internet use: With 9.1 Terabit data per second, the Frankfurt Internet Exchange DE-CIX set a new world record on 10 March.
This shows that functioning digital infrastructures – starting with a nationwide broadband network via a smart mix of centralized and decentralized data centers and cloud services – are indispensable for a functioning economic structure and social life and are needed more urgently than ever in Europe.
This insight is in line with the guiding principles which the Alliance for Strengthening Digital Infrastructures in Germany – founded under the umbrella of eco – has formulated since its inception in 2018.
Spokesperson Dr. Béla Waldhauser says:
“The corona pandemic shows the importance of digitalization in times of such crisis. Companies throughout Europe now need high-performance and reliable digital infrastructures: for video conferencing, remote work applications, digital educational offerings such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), or even telemedical approaches. Politics and business should therefore pursue the common goal of strengthening digital infrastructures in Germany and Europe in the long term. We must not wait for the next crisis!”
In addition to its greater economic significance, the Internet is also being used more for private purposes: It is certainly the case that, due to the time of year, as well as the extraordinary situation that people are currently experiencing due to the COVID-19 virus, Internet use is playing an increasingly important role with – for example, increasing access to news sites. The data rates are very strongly driven by video streaming (e.g. Video on Demand but also Skype or WhatsApp video calls), because the data rates here are many times higher than when accessing a news site (except where news videos are being watched).
