KPN network sees 40% growth in online meeting traffic due to snow

Last week, online meeting traffic on KPN's fixed network increased by 40 percent. The increase was due to the winter weather, which caused many people to work from home. Despite the snow, KPN's fixed and mobile networks continued to function well, and technicians were able to carry out most customer appointments. 

Increase in online meeting traffic due to winter conditions 
Last week, large parts of the Netherlands experienced snow, and people worked from home more often. Data from KPN shows that online meeting traffic was 40 percent higher last week than the average of the previous twelve weeks. There was a clear peak in the use of video calling and online meetings, especially on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Outgoing internet traffic (upload) also increased by an average of 12 percent. On Wednesday, January 7, upload traffic was even 22 percent higher than on other Wednesdays. The mobile call volume was slightly higher than usual during working hours on the snowy days. Notably, around 5:00-6:00 PM, the time when people usually go home, call traffic was actually lower than usual. This also indicates that many people stayed home. 

Networks perform well during winter weather
“Both our fixed infrastructure - fiber and copper - and the mobile network were hardly affected by the snow,” says Erik Brands, responsible for the KPN network. This allowed customers to work from home and hold online meetings without issues. “In the Netherlands, all cables are underground. This is in contrast to other countries, where cables sometimes run above ground. This is precisely why our network is well-equipped to withstand winter weather influences.”  

Technicians assist customers despite snow 
KPN technicians went out last week for repairs and installations, despite the snow and icy conditions. If it was not safe due to the weather, an alternative was sought, allowing 95.0% of appointments to still take place on the same day.