COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on the Telecommunication industry

The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly brought many challenges to the telecommunication industry. Among them was a sharp spike in data usage within neighborhoods as the home became the center of our everyday life.

Children began being educated via home-schooling d employees now had office setups within their domestic spaces complete with computer peripherals and high-speed internet connectivity.

We look at the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the telecommunication industry, and as it continues to impact further as we enter into the 2nd wave of the pandemic:

Wider Internet Coverage and robust Internet Connection
Internet service providers recorded an increase in subscribers to their internet product offering and inquiries about their internet coverage scope within residential areas. Many ISPs embarked on internet coverage expansion projects and invested heavily in increasing their current internet bandwidth to accommodate their new customers.

Increased Safeguards Against Cyber Attacks
With the increase in internet traffic, cyber-attacks and attempted illegal access to different systems and networks were rising. The telecommunication industry started taking a more profound interest in how best they could safeguard their systems against unauthorized access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Growth of VPNs and conferencing platforms
As people started working remotely from their homes’ comfort, there was an increase in the number of people installing VPNs and video conferencing tools to facilitate them to perform online with ease.

Re-inventing on-site support
Telecommunications technicians found it challenging to deliver on-site support to their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the social distancing protocols put in place across the globe. Therefore telecommunication companies were forced to adapt to the new norm and become creative in delivering on-site support using video-conferencing tools and augmented reality techniques which helped both parties maintain safe social distancing.

Increased Data usage
There was a noticeable increase in web traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic as many people shifted to executing their work activities online and using online-based conferencing tools.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the telecommunication industry will be felt for years to come. We can all agree that the pandemic forced governments and institutions to invest and take the telecommunications industry a priority.