Will 5G kill us? – post-pandemic telecommunication services market according to Play
Telecoms provider P4 (Play network operator) states that society has undergone a profound transformation during the pandemic. They are using devices and networks in a different way than before. The operators themselves have to contend with increasing strain on their transmission lines, if only because of the recent social media outage, increasing occasional activity (e.g. on New Year’s Eve) whether due to the recent social isolation caused by the pandemic. According to Play, the future of telecommunications lies in 5G connectivity.
Play boasts a special configuration of its network that is able to handle unexpectedly increased user traffic. The company had the opportunity to test its implementation on the occasion of the failure of Facebook and other media subordinate to Zuckerberg a few days ago. As reported by Blogplay.pl in the absence of access to social messaging, Play provider noted a 100% increase in the use of SMS and MMS during the outage.
In the case of phone calls there was no such trend, although they also scored as much as 22 percent. growth. There is already a noticeable getting used to more convenient text communication, although this is not a result of the pandemic itself, but the development of social media.
During the outage, there was also a decrease in data consumption by users, which was the result of less activity processing large volumes of media such as: reports, photos, video or audio attachments. During this time there was also a an eightfold increase in calls to the helpline, which were discharged with the help of an automated failure message and an effective change of service mode by consultants.
Failure a contributor to promotion
Play decided to promote on this occasion RCS Chat service, which allows you to send photos, audio, video, information about reading the message and other options using our phone number.
Pandemic, and the telecommunications market – Play report
Play presented a report titled “What COVID has changed? Play and customers during the pandemic”. As the name suggests, it touches upon the topic of coronavirus and its impact on consumer behavior in mobile services. In addition to the data relating to subscribers, there is also information on the development of the network. This development, willingly or unwillingly, had to accelerate in the new situation put before the market.
Unusual growth in network load
The pandemic has generated a demand in people for more access to telecommunications services than ever before. Play reports an increase in network traffic in places that were previously dormant during work and study hours, i.e., that traffic during such hours was characterised by marginal.
The report also notes A gradual increase in the activity of hospitals and medical test and analysis facilities. The results of measuring the growth of the data used show that this has increased by 60 percent. compared to the same period before the pandemic.
“It’s fair to say that the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic were a time of permanent so-called “blackout” for operators. The “New Year’s Eve effect”, i.e. the one day a year when millions of network users communicate with each other in one moment. Overnight operators not only had to adapt to the realities of remote working in their own companies, but also make it possible for millions of Polish entrepreneurs. The challenge has become to ensure adequate coverage and bandwidth. I am confident that as an industry we have absolutely passed this test. This is a huge contribution from thousands of people working in Play, but also in all telecommunications companies” – says Michał Ziółkowski, member of the board and technical director for. infrastructure development.
Poles more family-oriented – the positives of lockdown
Although the pandemic has a number of negative consequences for our health, condition, economy and society, it also has good consequences. A lot of people found more time and had time for reflection and rest from the daily rush.
According to the Play report The first pandemic periods contributed to the need for greater integration with loved ones, which was reflected in phone calls. In March last year, the average duration of a phone call on the purple network increased from two and a half minutes to three and a half minutes. An increase of one minute, although when translated into the overall data picture this is a huge number of hours compared to previous years.
Keeping in mind that this result is averaged, it doesn’t mean that our discussions lasted just a minute longer, to say the least. The scale of the Play network indicates millions of Poles who talked on the phone for tens of minutes or longer.
Communication via text messaging has also returned to favor
Web traffic has shifted during this time – from a huge evening peak to an increase in activity before noon. What’s more, people used to be most active surfing the web on weekends. Pandemic contributed to weekend traffic spreading to the remaining days of the week.
The report also refers to data from the PMR Market Expert Institute for Data Analysis and Reporting, which shows that the majority of Poles participating in the study admitted to more frequent online media and entertainment activity.
More than 23 percent. of us were more likely to use video platforms, and 32 percent of. searched for free content. It is also estimated that nearly 30 percent of. An increase in users listening to music from streaming services, while 43 percent. Poles were more likely to look at websites to read articles. A quarter of respondents admitted to being more active in the area of video games on different types of media.
Changes in heads and alarm clocks
The report also mentions an interesting observation about a shift in the daily rhythm of a standard Pole by half an hour later. This means getting up and going to bed half an hour later than before lockdown.
The need for development in the face of a virus
Play stands at a crossroads as network supply gets complicated. Due to the increased activity, the company was obliged to develop its infrastructure, which resulted in launching over 1000 base stations i implementation of more than 60 pro-client initiatives. The changing demands of the market and customers according to the operator is a priority issue, as reported by the Play network.
The future under the sign of 5G?
The Office of Electronic Communications lists Poland as first in the European Union in terms of mobile Internet usage. It is estimated that by four years ahead, nearly 70 percent of. users will use 5G networks.
Although it is not so obvious, because everything depends on the infrastructure in place, which is being implemented. Play has intensified the expansion of its 5G network, where in August it already had more than 2,500 transmitters deployed. They operate in more than seven hundred towns and cover more than 30 percent of. population.
Will 5G finish us off?
Let’s just hope that 5G doesn’t become a marker for walking around in aluminum headgear, as some groups of internet users boast. Sorting out the issue of harm from 5G connectivity, Medonet calls 5G ionizing radiation. Although it is able to break the tissue, it all depends on the frequency of the waves emitted by their source.
The lowest amount of radiation that is capable of ionization has a frequency of 2-3 PHz. The frequency of cell phone radiation is approx. 2.5 GHz, which is more than a million times less than the lower limit of ionization. Microwaves are comparable to those of stoves that heat food.
The 5G network, on the other hand, uses bands at 700 MHz, 3.4-3.8 GHz and 26 GHz. These already have their use in radio communications, mobile telephony, Wi-Fi networks and body scanners used at airports, for example.
The portal clearly states that so far there are no cases of negative consequences of using this technology, although to be honest, these will always appear. Maybe not in the form of chips and mind control, but that’s the way it is with technology. It always solves one problem, generating another – about which Natalia Hatalska writes in her book, which we strongly encourage you to read.