Increased Internet Traffic In SA
On the 23rd of March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster to address the spread of the novel Coronavirus. With most of the nation confined to their homes, work, school, university, hobbies and social gatherings moved online – and the internet traffic in South Africa climbed substantially.
In the days following the announcement, internet traffic in South Africa climbed to incredible heights. As a result, NAPAfrica asked ISPs that were operating at a capacity of 50% or higher, to upgrade their capacity as the internet played a vital role during this challenging time in our country and internet users start to experience slower speeds and unreliability at around 80% capacity.
2020 came and went, and while some activities returned to normal, the demand for internet remains high as many businesses, universities, and schools are still operating remotely, depending on their home internet access to keep them connected around the clock.
The most recent announcement of delaying the opening of schools by another two weeks, will continue the trend of an increased demand for reliable internet, as parents will be working, and children will be learning, from home once again in the weeks to come.