Italian operators and ISPs instantly double network capacity to resolve shortage and avoid internet collapse

By Yana Persky 4 min read

Italy is facing the largest coronavirus outbreak outside mainland China. The lockdown imposed nationwide by the Italian government has led its people to heavily rely on the Internet for health, work, entertainment and education purposes. The question is whether Italian service providers can handle the coming crisis from an infrastructure perspective? According to Telecom Italia Chief Executive Officer Luigi Gubitosi, Telecom Italia reported an increase of more than 70% in internet traffic over their landline network, with a big contribution coming from online gaming such as Fortnite.

Indeed, immediately after entering the lockdown, internet speeds plummeted. The surge in internet traffic has made it hard to upload and download files, stream videos and conduct videoconferencing calls. Internet, Facebook and WhatsApp were literally knocked out for a few hours on March 12 and 13. What was considered sufficient bandwidth for a couple of home computers per family is not sufficient when you add employees, students and housebound youngsters who are working, consuming media and playing online games all day. What’s more, let’s not forget remote medical services, including remote diagnosis and video calling, which are critical at this current situation.

The network infrastructure of operators and ISPs is generally not accustomed to the vast transfer and upload of work and distant learning traffic to and from people’s homes, with many users sharing the same internet connections throughout the day, and results in inadequate capacity and poor performance.

Due to the Coronavirus people are forced to stay at home, which is having a huge impact on network infrastructure in Italy, Europe, and the rest of the world. People are being asked to prioritize internet access for remote work or studying and conserve streaming of videos or gaming for off-peak hours. In fact, EU officials urged Netflix today to limit streaming resolution to SD in order to avoid networks collapse across Europe.

The good news is that many service providers across Italy are using Ceragon’s flexible all-outdoor wireless backhaul solutions to ensure their network connectivity is available at maximum capacity to meet subscribers’ skyrocketing demand.

Ceragon’s IP-20C multicore radio allows these service providers to remotely double capacity to 1Gbps links without the need to visit the sites. Over the last few weeks networks across Italy were upgraded to meet customers’ demand using no additional equipment and without any need to dispatch installation crews at these critical times.

Service providers, in Italy or anywhere else in the world, strive to deliver reliable connectivity for their customers’ wellbeing, health and business continuity. Ceragon’s flexible wireless hauling solutions, with all outdoor radios, allow service providers to adapt their network to unforeseen events and secure their business.

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