Why internet access is the second most important utility

Over the last year, nothing has caused as much frustration as losing internet access. From annoying drop-offs every few minutes to hours-long outages, all eyes have been on the ISPs of the world as entire nations retreated indoors and lives shifted online. Homes with parents working and children trying to join online classrooms, all while consuming media and gaming, have tested that connectivity like never before.

And it’s telling that a quick search will find stories of customers with ongoing bandwidth issues (with hashtags like #losingmyvirginIT going national on social media); many going to great lengths to get internet access, like jumping onto a neighbour’s Wi-Fi through a mesh network or sitting in their car at the bottom of the drive.

2020 saw 50k petabytes of data consumed on broadband alone, compared to 22k in 2019. And no wonder, with all the bandwidth-hungry apps that lockdown has made necessary. For example: while conferencing software like Zoom can use around 2GB per hour, the consistent 3.2Mbps inbound and 1.8Mbps outbound requirements mean, with an unstable connection or on a crowded network, you can end up with your video looking as blocky as a Lego movie, if there’s video at all.

Back in 2016, the UN announced that they see internet access not just as a utility, but as a human right. Since then, its importance as a utility has only shot up; especially considering the shifting of everything online spurred on by the pandemic.

Once the pandemic hit the UK, shoppers spent 99% more on online groceries than they had in 2019, with 10.4% of all grocery sales happening online. These numbers only grew throughout the year, and by December the year-on-year rise in online food sales hit 126%.

And after the first UK lockdown, meal delivery titans like Deliveroo and innovative new players like Dishpatch saw a surge in food orders; which gave restaurants and local food stores the chance to adapt and provide the restaurant experience at home. Big Smoke Brewery, my local, saw their annual online orders rocket up from 157 to 15,864!

Retailers believe these trends will continue, even as we ease out of lockdown; and some companies like The Co-op are looking even further ahead, using IoT-powered robots for contactless, emissions-free home delivery.

OTT streaming services have kept us going with a huge slew of content. Disney+ demonstrated perfect timing by launching right at the start of the Spring lockdown. In total, the three most popular services in the UK—Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+—had over 32 million subscribers by the end of 2020 (8 million or 34% more than 2019), which is double the total number signed up to TV providers like Sky, BT, and Virgin Media.

Even now movies that were planned for cinema, like Mulan, Onward, and The Invisible Man, are being released online instead. Not to mention the rise of online gaming, which is well-known for eating up swathes of bandwidth.

(For parents with young children whose boundless energy and minds need to be occupied, it’s about more than just entertainment—it’s a matter of sanity.)

And while we’re all no doubt getting tired of online drinks and quizzes, we’ve been fortunate to have the limited socialisation enabled by the internet. Video calls have been really important for families who can’t visit each other, couples stuck in separate households, and friends who can’t hang out. We’re social creatures, after all!

This is perhaps the internet’s biggest role in keeping the world turning: allowing as many members of the workforce as possible to continue providing services while earning an income, and keeping students connected to their education.

As an added benefit, the shift to working from home has shown that many jobs can be done from anywhere, which will free up people’s time to be spent in more fulfilling ways. Flexible working will be far more commonplace moving forwards.

While it’s not quite the same for children, since going to school provides social interaction that’s incredibly important for their development (and lets parents get their work done), the internet has been key in minimising the impact of schools closing.

That’s why internet access is a utility second only to electricity in the average UK home; and that’s in part due to the fact that you need electricity for internet access.

‘What about water?’ you might well argue. Well, one quick click means a delivery of big water bottles can be with you on the same day, solving all your drinking needs! (And in a socially-distanced age where all of our business and pleasure needs are met onscreen, missing a couple of showers isn’t the end of the world.)

And we can’t understate the power of mobile data’s role in internet access. With the UK’s broadband taking a battering, 36% of UK adults have turned to mobile data to stay connected, with 61% saying it’s made working from home feasible (we can help with that!). Often, mobile connectivity will offer even better download and upload speeds than ADSL or FTTC.

For businesses looking to open up after this (hopefully final) lockdown with the use of back-to-work IoT and connectivity solutions while ensuring they have internet access at all times, adaptive mobile options like unsteered Multi-network SIMs are still the answer. Especially with BT’s PSTN switch-off around the corner, which will rip the carpet out from underneath many businesses who rely on those lines for internet access.

Think about it this way: with how much we rely on electricity, it’s recommended that homes and businesses have a backup generator in case of emergencies. They keep businesses trading and homes safe.

Compare that to internet access—a utility that we rely on just as much, yet one that constantly suffers due to network outages and bandwidth restrictions. If power dipped as frequently and for as long as internet access did, there’s no way you or your customers would stand for it.

But the good news is: nobody has to stand for it. With options like mobile broadband and 4G backup, mobile connectivity can work as both your main line and your backup generator in a storm, keeping you connected no matter the weather.

Connectivity is the engine that got us here, and will continue to move us forward into the future. It’s no wonder the demand for it is so high.

And for Channel partners, it’s easier than it’s ever been to meet that demand and more with mobile connectivity. If that’s an opportunity that you’re interested in, drop us a line!