{"id":5652,"date":"2021-03-24T06:30:35","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T06:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/24\/reflecting-on-a-year-of-lockdowns-for-the-uk-5\/"},"modified":"2021-03-24T06:30:35","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T06:30:35","slug":"reflecting-on-a-year-of-lockdowns-for-the-uk-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/24\/reflecting-on-a-year-of-lockdowns-for-the-uk-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflecting on a year of lockdowns for the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflecting on a year of lockdowns for the UK<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It\u2019s safe to say that as we entered the first national lockdown on 23 March 2020, few predicted we would be deep into our third lockdown a full year later. Nor did anyone anticipate just how much would change in that timeframe. Today, many of us now consider remote working the norm, likewise putting our kids through virtual lessons, doing the weekly food shop online and socializing via apps like Zoom have become commonplace.<\/p>\n

Digital connectivity has underpinned so many of the most significant adjustments in the last year. And the UK\u2019s network has dealt with the strain so well, it\u2019s easy to take for granted just how essential it has been.<\/p>\n

Initial explosive growth and shifts in internet use<\/h3>\n

In the UK, and in Europe more broadly, the first lockdown had an instantaneous and pronounced effect on our digital habits. We used more internet data, for more things, than ever before. And we connected almost exclusively from home, with mobile phone traffic shifting from downtown and public spaces to suburban residential areas.<\/p>\n

There was also a marked increase in overall internet traffic \u2013 between 20 and 100 percent over pre-lockdown levels. Globally, consumers\u2019 use of fixed broadband increased by an average of two and half hours per day, and by one hour on mobile<\/a>. This worldwide trend reflects what we saw in the UK, where most of our internet use was driven by \u2018at home\u2019 usage of broadband and Wi-Fi services.<\/p>\n

And what were we using all this extra data for? Somewhat unsurprisingly, healthcare, telemedicine, online gaming, shopping, and work accounted for most of the rise in traffic and time spent online.<\/p>\n

However, my favourite statistic? We saw an increase of up to 70% in voice traffic over networks right after the first lockdown began. People were talking with family and friends more, and calls were going on for longer. Although we were physically distanced, we sought to connect with one another through the phone.<\/p>\n

Networks (and teams) took the strain<\/h3>\n

Despite the unforeseen and sudden shift in usage patterns, as well as an unprecedented surge in online traffic, the UK\u2019s networks performed admirably, as did most worldwide<\/a>. This strong performance was reflected in users\u2019 perceptions, with 83 percent claiming ICT helped them a lot, in one way or another, to cope with lockdown.<\/p>\n

On the ground, our field team and other essential workers were critical, carrying out incredible work in keeping the UK\u2019s networks up and running. We dealt with challenges ranging from a national shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to difficulties gaining access to sites thanks to self-isolation protocols. Our team even had to contend with arson attacks on critical mobile infrastructure, facing intimidation and extra security measures as well as a round of enhanced risk assessments to keep networks running and people connected.<\/p>\n

Despite these many challenges, looking back I\u2019m in awe of the work our team did in making sure the UK\u2019s vital connectivity was maintained. And it was a privilege to see our Head of Field Services Organisation, Adam Gordon, recognised with a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for the collective role he and his team played in this task<\/a> in the Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours List in October last year.<\/p>\n

Without the investments made in 4G and 5G, and the tireless work of everyone in the industry right across the country – including engineers, field teams and network operations staff \u2013 new online applications like telemedicine, remote work and video calls could not have been delivered consistently throughout the pandemic.<\/p>\n

The long-term implications of COVID-19<\/h3>\n

According to Ericsson ConsumerLab analysis, the UK\u2019s first lockdown saw downloads of business-related apps grow by almost double YoY, education apps by more than a third, shopping apps by a similar level and telemedicine apps by an incredible 178%.<\/p>\n

Clearly, some of these shifts will be temporary. Time spent on education and fitness apps, for example, could be observed rising and falling in line with lockdowns being imposed. However, others look to be more consistent \u2013 use of business, social and entertainment apps increased immediately after the first lockdown and has remained at similar levels since.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, we seem to be making habitual, long-term changes in some areas of our lives. Time spent using food delivery and telehealth apps increased 81% and 355% respectively in Q4 2020 compared to the same time in the previous year. And rises in use have been consistent during lockdowns and when restrictions are eased.<\/p>\n

UK consumers themselves expect to see big changes in the next five years due to the pandemic, supporting these insights. Where 27% were working from home at least once a week before the first lockdown, 40% anticipate doing so post-pandemic. Meanwhile, nearly half (44%) believe that consuming entertainment and culture, as well as social gatherings will continue to happen virtually alongside a return to in-person engagements over the next five years.<\/p>\n

Turning to the future<\/h3>\n

How we work and play have changed permanently for many, while the way healthcare is delivered is undergoing an almost revolutionary transformation. And we should expect a range of other shifts in society\u2019s digital habits as well \u2013 workplaces will become more dematerialised<\/a> as \u2018work from home\u2019 becomes \u2018work from anywhere\u2019, with technologies like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality enabling workforces to connect and collaborate with each other from anywhere in the world. Sports fans will enjoy more immersive experiences at stadia too, and fully connected and flexible smart factories will start to look at how technology and wireless connectivity can solve operational challenges. There\u2019s nothing that won\u2019t benefit from ultrafast connectivity.<\/p>\n

While today\u2019s networks have been designed and managed to support these changes, emerging strongly and sustainably from COVID-19 depends on accelerating digital transformation even further \u2013 something we can only achieve with 5G at the forefront.<\/p>\n

Delivering high speeds, low-latency and unprecedented capacity, 5G is a key enabler of other emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence and Edge Computing. The economic benefits for the UK are clear. We will benefit from \u00a314.8 billion in additional economic growth<\/a> if we can seize the full potential of 5G networks and implement advanced industrial use cases, over and above the substantial benefits already expected from enhanced mobile broadband.<\/p>\n

As restrictions are loosened and vaccines allow for a more open economy, we all hope that the end of lockdown is in sight. But for us as leaders in the telecommunications industry, the changes in how people use digital infrastructure, the demands that will be placed on it, and how central it could be to our country\u2019s ambitions show we could be embarking on an exciting phase in UK connectivity. This is just the beginning \u2013 and we can\u2019t wait to get going.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Published at Tue, 23 Mar 2021 20:03:45 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reflecting on a year of lockdowns for the UK It\u2019s safe to say that as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techclot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4G1jb9.jpg?fit=500%2C325&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3orZX-1ta","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}