Changing behaviours during level 4 lockdown Vodafone NZ roaming

Usually, a large number of New Zealanders travel from their homes to their workplaces, so Vodafone New Zealand makes sure they have the most mobile capacity where they are – in town centres, near offices, shopping malls and so on. In this scenario, operators don’t need as much capacity during the day near the places where they live.

But COVID-19 has turned this pattern of behavior completely on its head. As a result, we are all seeing data use start much earlier in the day – and overall around 20% higher data over fixed and mobile networks, a whopping 60% more mobile voice calls, and 30% more PXT (picture) messages sent.

While last week we were seeing fixed data up 32% overall, this has settled down as Kiwis spend more time at home and use their home Wi-Fi connections.

New Zealand’s traffic peaks

Because video streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube, or online games, take up the most amount of data, our busiest times are in the evenings, when most Kiwis turn on their TVs or turn online for entertainment.

Our network traffic builds throughout the day – with 9pm usually being our busiest time.

However with COVID-19 meaning Kiwis are now working or learning from home, we’re seeing traffic start to build earlier, from 9am onwards and increase throughout the day. Overall we’re seeing 20-30% higher levels of data than we saw in February.

Likewise, with people picking up the phone instead of talking to their work colleagues, we’re seeing around 60% higher phone calls throughout the day – and doubling to +100% at busy times (11am being the busiest time daily). VodafoneTV viewing is consistently 20% above pre-lockdown levels. Vodafone NZ roaming