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By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, March 18 (Reuters) - EU Industry Chief Thierry
Breton has called on video streaming platforms such as Netflix
and Alphabet unit YouTube to take measures to
prevent internet gridlock caused by people teleworking and
streaming at home due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The European Commission said abnormal traffic distribution
risks straining the internet infrastructure at a time when it
was needed for healthcare services, online teaching and other
uses.
"Streaming platforms, telecom operators and users, we all
have a joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth
functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus
propagation," Breton said in a statement on Wednesday.
He urged streaming platforms to cooperate with telecom
providers and temporarily downgrade the quality of video
streaming by offering standard definition rather than high
definition.
Breton said telecoms operators should also take measures to
lessen network congestion and users should use settings and wifi
to reduce data consumption.
Earlier on Wednesday, he spoke with Netflix CEO Reed
Hastings on measures to alleviate congested internet capacity,
with a switch to standard definition during peak time as a best
option.
Breton's comments came as world No. 2 mobile operator
Vodafone pointed to higher data traffic on its networks
due to the coronavirus crisis, with demand already rising 50% in
some markets.
Some European telecoms providers have also reported
connectivity problems and a surge in data traffic in recent
days. This in part has been driven by companies giving free
data, downloads and films to clients to show their support
during the coronavirus crisis.
The Commission and the Body of European Regulators for
Electronic Communications (BEREC) will set up a special
reporting mechanism to monitor the internet traffic situation in
each EU country.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)
