• June 5, 2020

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During COVID-19, much of the world’s business and behavior patterns have been in flux, with wireless communications seeing usage numbers like never before. According to the latest Verizon Network Report, some of that activity is now starting to normalize as text and call volumes are returning to more typical springtime rates.

Earlier this month, Verizon recorded more than 776 million calls and 5.87 billion texts sent on a single weekday. Comparatively, this is a significant decline from the usage spike experienced as the U.S. began grappling with the effects of COVID-19 and when peak daily call volumes were over 860 million and texts soared over nine billion.

While small and large organizations alike are navigating this rapidly evolving operating environment, Verizon’s Chief Technology Officer, Kyle Malady, said, “Though the nation will be managing the impact of COVID-19 far into the future, we feel as if the biggest changes in how, when and where people use the networks are behind us. We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring the networks 24×7 for changes to continue to provide a great customer experience.”

Malady’s comments are not exclusive to decreasing call and text volumes; conversely for Verizon, gaming is up 82% and VPN connectivity is up 72% over pre-COVID rates. Further, the use of collaboration tools is holding steady, but the usage level is holding steady at a rate 10 times higher than what it was prior to COVID-19.

Additionally, Verizon’s handoff metrics show recent increases in mobility in at least 44 states and 36% have surpassed their pre-COVID rates, suggesting that users are starting to come out of their homes more frequently as some restrictions lift. According to Malady, “In the spring, we often see an increase in handoffs as people move around more and volume on our networks increases over what we see in the winter. So while these numbers are higher than our typical winter pre-COVID numbers, they are very much in line with what we would expect to see this time of year.”

As many Americans are working, learning, and finding their way through these uncertain times from home, wireless networks, in one format or another, are powering a notable part of the effort and journey. Whether usage numbers fully return to their pre-COVID levels or they experience a shift in their “how, when, or where” patterns, the attention on–and capability of–wireless networks will be instrumental in the days ahead.

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Sources:

verizon.com/about/news/how-americans-are-spending-their-time-temporary-new-normal

rcrwireless.com/20200526/carriers/verizon-call-and-texting-volumes-back-to-normal-levels