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Amazon’s Premier League coverage scores UK network traffic peak

BT said it saw the highest peak yet on its fixed network, 25.5Tbps, around 25,000gb of data every second

Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of this week’s Premier League mid-week matches led to new network traffic records for BT, TalkTalk and the London internet exchange Linx.

Wednesday’s six matches included the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool, as well as Aston Villa hosting Manchester City.

BT said it saw the highest peak yet on its fixed network, 25.5Tbps, around 25,000gb of data every second, and 12 per cent higher than the previous peak BT recorded in December 2020.

In a graphic posted on Twitter, BT’s consumer division CEO Marc Allera revealed Merseyside saw a 70 per cent increase in data in its fixed network compared to the highest peak in the week prior.

https://twitter.com/MarcAllera/status/1466428910137233416

TalkTalk said it set a new traffic peak record at around 9pm, when internet traffic passed 8.1 Tbps, well ahead of its previous record of 7.6 Tbps, also in December 2020.

According to Linx, total traffic peaked at 6.512 Tbps on its exchange on the same night.

Allera said the traffic surge underlines the need to review net neutrality rules. “A quick glance at our own network data suggests that at peak times up to 80 per cent of traffic – and therefore capacity on our network – comes from just a handful of companies, some using models that can find and consume every last bit of space. It’s hard to argue that that doesn’t unfairly impact other users of the internet,” he added.