Business

Fridays bring unique ‘surge’ in broadband activity from about 2pm, says Vodafone Ireland

Increased demand for streaming sees rise in mobile and broadband usage in 2023, though number of voice calls falls

Vodafone customers consumed 28 per cent more mobile data this year compared with 2022. Photograph: iStock

Laura Slattery
Thu Dec 28 2023 - 05:45

Fridays stand out from other weekdays because of their “distinctive surge” in broadband usage from about 2pm, according to telecoms company Vodafone Ireland, although Sundays are the busiest day of the week overall for both mobile and broadband traffic on its network.

“Fridays, while initially resembling other weekdays, stand out as a unique phenomenon with a distinctive surge from 2pm onward, surpassing the acceleration seen on any other weekday,” it said.

Mondays also “take centre stage”, it added, with the higher broadband traffic levels on the two days likely explained by their popularity as days for remote working.

Vodafone said its fixed network activity tended to peak at 10pm, with usage at this time being seven times the level seen at 6pm. The peak hour for mobile traffic varies across counties, but 9pm to 10pm is typically the busiest hour on its network.

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Overall, its customers consumed 28 per cent more mobile data compared with 2022, it said. This was driven by increased streaming demand as consumers moved further away from traditional television viewing and used mobile connections to watch content. Broadband usage rose 13 per cent compared with the year before.

Reflecting the wider telecoms market, voice calls on the Vodafone network fell this year – its customers made 3.9 billion voice calls, down from 4.05 billion in 2022.

During 2023, the telecoms company put in place additional temporary coverage to increase capacity at 11 events including Electric Picnic, the National Ploughing Championships, Slane, Longitude, All Together Now and Bloom, with these events attended by 1.1 million Vodafone customers who made 1.6 million voice calls and used 86.5 terabytes of data.

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics

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