Internet bandwidth increases by 25% amid lockdown

Published On: March 29, 2020 10:55 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

According to Bhoj Raj Bhatta, president of Internet Service Providers Association (ISPAN), the daily average use of internet bandwidth was 400 GB before the lockdown which has now increased to 500 GB.

“The use of internet bandwiKATHMANDU, March 29: The use of internet bandwidth has increased by 25% in recent days due to the nationwide lockdown. The lockdown has forced people to work from home and children are also using the internet for entertainment and educational purposes.dth has increased by 25% in current situation as everyone is home and use the internet for various purposes,” said Bhatta, “It is hard for internet service providers to fulfill the increasing demand.”

The government has called for a nationwide lockdown until March 31, 2020 and internet usage has increased as people use the internet to work from home, complete their school and college assignments and to receive information about COVID-19.

“The increase in bandwidth of internet will cost more to the internet service providers. The use of internet is unlimited for customers but internet service providers have to pay more according to the use of their network,” said Bhatta.

“After the lockdown, I have started to realize that the internet in my house has become slow. All my family members are using the net and without the internet, I cannot complete my office work and assignments,” said Rita Neupane, a resident of Koteshwor.

As per Bhatta, a surge in internet traffic has not caused any problem for now but users may face problems like buffering while doing their work online.

Recently, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has issued a notice regarding the increase in use of internet amid the nationwide lockdown and has advised internet users to use internet only if necessary.

“In this period of pandemic, internet is very useful and important to get the information and messages but use of internet in playing online games, watching movies and using it for other purposes will not solve the problem,” said Bhatta, “People should use the internet for information purposes rather than entertainment purposes.”