Netflix & YouTube Return To Normal Bit Rates, Increasing Pressure On Telecos

The country’s telecos companies are working to cope with the added pressure on their networks, as both Netflix and YouTube return to their normal bit rates.

Both streaming services had reduced the bandwidth streams of their videos in March, in order to ease the pressure on telecoms networks, given the unprecedented demand caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Bit rates were not only reduced in Australia, but in many other countries, starting in Italy and Spain, which saw COVID-19 outbreaks earlier.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that teleco providers had already seen spikes of 35% during peak time in the last couple of weeks, suggesting that broadband congestion could once again become a problem, particularly given the second round of lockdowns in Victoria.

However, Netflix reportedly has provisions in place to reduce streaming quality quickly should the need for it arise again.

To help meet the heightened demand, the NBN Co has extended its offer of giving telecos 40% more bandwidth free of charge until August.