Virgin Media O2 predicts late-night surge for broadband usage during World Cup

With the first Scottish game set to start at 2am UK time on 14th June it is likely that many Scottish fans will stay up to watch it live, to avoid the usual app alerts giving away any result. The first England match is 17th June and with a 9pm kick-off is likely to not adversely affect sleeping patterns.

Virgin Media O2 has issued a press release to warn that it expects to see millions sacrificing sleep to watch the late-night matches, and is expecting significant increases in mobile and broadband traffic compared to normal.

Generally the usual peak time for traffic is 7pm to 10pm, and it is unlikely that any broadband surge at 2am will exceed that peak so no danger of breaking the Internet. Broadband providers who will often do network changes at night we would hope have studied the schedule to avoid any major works during the World Cup.

“Major sporting moments now play out simultaneously on the pitch and online. Whether customers are streaming matches at home, reacting from pub gardens or messaging friends after a last-minute goal, the summer of football is expected to drive a major shift in late-night connectivity demand. Our teams will be monitoring network performance around the clock to keep customers connected wherever and however they follow the action.”

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer, Virgin Media O2

The vast majority of people watching the matches will be using live TV from ITV or the BBC rather than broadband streaming, but as the number of Freely equipped televisions increases there will be more IPTV than the last World Cup. There will of course be all the messaging between fans going on, but that is not likely to stress networks.

One interesting aspect as IPTV is becoming more common will be confusion, as one house that is using Freeview or FreeSat maybe a second or two ahead in terms of cheering for a goal comparing to a household using IPTV.