The massive disruption brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the value of communication networks and changing the face of digital behaviour.

The latest ‘Ericsson Mobility Report’ shows that lockdown restrictions in many countries have caused measurable changes in the use of both fixed and mobile networks, with new digital behaviours forming and networks working to adapt to the geographical shifts under way.

“The spread of Covid-19 has prompted people globally to change their daily lives and, in many cases, work or study from home. This has led to a rapid shift of network traffic from business to residential areas,” says Ericsson executive VP and head of networks Fredrik Jejdling.

Since the lockdowns were implemented, traffic increased by between 20% and 100%, with the greatest share absorbed by the fixed residential network in regions with sufficient penetration.

The increased data consumption was driven by a rising use of bidirectional remote work-related apps, such as audio, Web and video conferencing, and entertainment apps, including streaming video and audio, social media and messaging.

The time consumers spent each day connected to fixed-broadband increased by two-and-a-half hours during the crisis and the time spent connected to mobile broadband increased by an average of one hour a day.

Video calling and video conferencing have been a standout during the lockdown period, particularly among white-collar workers and seniors, the report shows.

Previously, consumers did not fully embrace video calling, evidenced by a relatively low uptake in most countries.

However, half of the respondents in a recently conducted consumer study have increased their use of video calls, while as many as 85% of consumers now use video calling, making it the second-most-important way of contacting family and friends during the crisis after voice calls.

“This behaviour among seniors is likely to continue and remain established after the crisis ends. For white-collar workers, the habit of using video-conferencing seems likely to continue into the future as seven in ten believe they will be working more from home after the crisis than they did before.”

They also agree that the traditional way of conducting conference calls will shift from voice-based to video-based conference calls.

A significant increase in the volume and duration of mobile voice calls across networks had also been observed in the most impacted regions during the initial lockdown phase.

The report shows a 90% surge in voice-over-WiFi calls for some service providers and a 20% to 70% increase in voice, owing to higher volumes and longer calls.

An analysis of the net changes reveal that applications for Covid-19 information and symptom tracking, elearning, remote working and wellness all experienced an increase in use.

“As consumers and enterprises try out new digital behaviours imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, an increased importance may emerge for ehealth, wellness applications, public-sector data access and similar digital utility services,” the report notes.

In addition, the need to socialise while in isolation and avoiding physical visits to doctors during the crisis drove users to start using remote health consultations and social shared experience applications.

However, the use of applications related to travel and booking, sports and navigation decreased the most.

Ericsson also reports a net new user growth of 8%.

Consumers are still buying new devices and expanding their use of information and communication technology services, with one in ten having bought new devices and two in ten having started to use new services.

Across the 11 markets surveyed, 87% have increased their use of existing online services.

Based on their behavioural changes during the lockdown restrictions, consumers predict that their new digital behaviours will remain after the crisis.