ANACOM shared new data on electronic communications traffic for the week of March 29, highlighting the decrease compared to the previous week. Even so, it is well above the period of normal use, before the registration of the first case of coronavirus in Portugal.
According to the regulator, it is estimated that voice traffic fell by around 9%, while data dropped by 11%. But in general, the voice remains 34% higher than the period before the pandemic arrived in Portugal and the data 35%. However, changes in the patterns of use of electronic communications services continued last week, with a growth of fixed voice traffic of over 96%, contrasting with a reduction seen in previous years (in 2019 it decreased by 15% ). Fixed broadband traffic grew by 46% and by more than 20%.
The regulator also mentions that there was an increase in the number of tests carried out by consumers to check the speed of internet access, through Net.mede. Between January and March 29, the daily average number of speed tests performed on the application, via browser, tripled, especially after March 12, which corresponds to the day after the WHO declared the pandemic.
About 4,500 tests were carried out, when the daily average was 1,500 / 2,000 checks. In mobile accesses the increase was from 300 to a thousand daily tests. Most tests were carried out between 18-22 hours until March 11, but became more homogeneous throughout the day during isolation.
