A third of Canadians are experiencing slower internet and worse video streaming quality, finds the Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA) in a self-reported study.
By surveying 1,200 people across Canada, 38 per cent of respondents said their home internet is noticeably worse than before. B.C. respondents seemed especially prone to internet degradation, with nearly 50 per cent of respondents reporting slowdowns since the pandemic began.
While the report summarized the self-reported experience, it did not conclude where the issues lie. Between the endpoints and the server, there are massive numbers of potential bottlenecks ranging from inadequate home routers to overloaded servers.
In addition, some major video streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, and Crave have lowered their default streaming quality. Viewers would need to manually enable high-definition video to achieve better fidelity.
Cellphone data use has also been on the rise; nearly a tenth of Canadians have reported hitting their monthly data caps. More calls are taking place as well, with traditional voice calling the most popular method of staying connected amongst users 40 and older. Younger crowds between 18 to 39 prefer to use WhatsApp to keep each other updated.
People are also turning to online shopping to obtain household items. Six in 10 survey participants said they’re trying to support local businesses instead of international retailers. The most common way is ordering food delivery from local restaurants.