Internet traffic drops at sunset

We track Internet traffic in all our locations – see UAE-IX statistics here – and can observe certain trends and peaks in Internet usage which directly mirrors also our lives offline. For example, since the introduction of Covid-19 measures around the world, we have witnessed how these actions directly translate into Internet traffic growth.

At UAE-IX during Ramadan, we saw a significant drop in Internet traffic around sunset coinciding with Iftar, the first meal after a day of fasting. 

We are online more frequently and longer

The weeks before Ramadan we did not see this drop and in general, this would have been peak time for Internet usage. Due to COVID-19, businesses as well as schools have adopted to remote working and e-learning. People spend more time at home which translates to increased content consumption and more time for online gaming. In UAE-IX, peak traffic has increased by 40%, collaboration tools and gaming data traffic by 100%, and streaming traffic by 50%.