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Indonesian telcoms record data traffic surges as people start staying home
The country's telecommunications providers have recorded a surge in data traffic as schools, businesses and individuals started complying with the government's instruction to stay at home.
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People, schools and businesses have shifted online in response to the government's call to work from home (WFH) and to practice social distancing. (Shutterstock/SFIO CRACHO)
W
e have been relying a lot on our internet connection, mostly for daily communication, work and entertainment. Since the government instructed the public to stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19, the need for internet access has jumped, with people needing to ensure that they can remain connected while staying and working from home.
After the government called on people to work from home (WFH) and practice social distancing on March 15, many day-to-day activities from working to schooling have shifted online. This has led to a surge in demand for digital communications services in the country.
Endita Prima, a university lecturer in Yogyakarta, for example, spends much more time online than usual, as she has been required to provide her student lectures online from home since last Tuesday. She uses the internet primarily to use online teaching and meeting platforms like WebEx, Zoom and Google Hangouts.
“On Tuesday, I used internet data for 100 minutes of online teaching. On Thursday, I used it for a 90-minute online meeting and today, for another 40-minute online meeting,” she told The Jakarta Post on March 20.
With online learning expected to continue at least until mid-April, Endita expected her mobile data bill would go up.
Read also: Twists and turns of woking from home
Laily Maulida, a lecturer in Surabaya, East Java, also said that her mobile data use surged, as she conducted all learning activities online.
