- Forced to stay at home and to respect the containment measures imposed by the epidemic of Coronavirus, the French will seek more than usual networks.
- Hence the question: should we fear a risk of saturation and congestion which makes our use of the Internet more complicated, if not impossible?
- The operators interviewed maintain that the networks are sized to absorb peaks in consumption, but point out that if necessary, it will be necessary to appeal to the digital responsibility of the French.
Networks that are saturated, communications more and more difficult ... and Netflix parties that risk bugging? Some of us have sometimes noticed: for a few hours now, the telephone networks and sometimes even the Internet have not always been at their best. Is this worrying at a time when the Covid-19 imposes its containment measures and forces a majority of French people to stay cloistered at home?
Take the shock of the data
This was often the case on Monday March 16 when we made a phone call. Once the number of our correspondent dialed, we had to wait a few seconds before his phone rang. It also "milled" a bit on the web, as Nouria noted: "My Facebook page was often long to load around 9am. I clearly felt that there must be more of us than usual wanting to share the same tip ”. According to Arcep, 30 million French households now have a fixed broadband (ADSL) or very high speed (fiber optic or fixed 4G) Internet subscription.
Questioned, the operators are reassuring for the moment. “We have a network that is sized to absorb strong peaks in consumption, especially in the evening. This full capacity is also available during the day, "said a spokesman for Bouygues Telecom, who said:" We can absorb the shock of data and we monitor traffic constantly to react if necessary.
Manage the coming months
"The capacity of operators to absorb peaks in consumption is important, but we are opening a new exceptional sequence which requires us to be reactive and very attentive to changes in consumption", reacts Arthur Dreyfuss, president of the French Telecoms Federation (FFTélécoms ) which brings together 17 operators and suppliers of electronic communication services in France, including Orange, Altice-SFR and Bouygues Telecom. And who warns: “the peaks to which we are used and prepared will turn into a continuous increase in consumption and this, over the long haul. It is not a question of managing for the next few days but for the next few months ”.
Prioritize flows in the event of congestion
Vigilance, therefore. "We could take precautionary measures in the event of heavy congestion, and prioritize flows by effectively choosing more essential services than others", continues Arthur Dreyfuss. Exit Netflix, the streaming and gaming platforms that are likely to be widely used to deceive boredom (and get ideas changed)? “Honestly, to date, we are far from it, and everything is working normally with us! "Reassures the spokesperson of Bouygues Telecom.
According to the French Telecoms Federation, “we are entering an era of social discipline which must be accompanied by digital responsibility. While 15,000 technicians and engineers are mobilized among operators, the country must organize itself with a substantial part of French who must be able to communicate, inform themselves, work or study from home. "And of course, more than anything, we must support health services during this exceptional period," said the president of FFTélécoms.
An exceptional period when it is already recommended to relieve networks from using Wifi rather than 3G / 4G as soon as possible to communicate, watch videos or play online.
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- Containment
- Coronavirus
- Internet
- Health
- High-Tech