A commissioner of the European Union after a conversation with Netflix chairman and CEO Reed Hastings tweeted: "To secure Internet access for all, let's #SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary."
Amid concerns that there could be a surge in online traffic driven by people forced to stay home amid the coronavirus crisis, a high-ranking member of the European Union has called on Netflix to do its part.
EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Thierry Breton has asked the streaming giant to limit streaming of its films and TV series to standard definition, not high definition, or HD, streams, which require more online bandwidth, at peak times. Breton said he spoke with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings about the issue on Wednesday.
"Important phone conversation with @ReedHastings, CEO of @Netflix," EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in a Twitter post. "To beat #COVID19, we #StayAtHome. Teleworking & streaming help a lot but infrastructures might be in strain. To secure Internet access for all, let’s #SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary."
Breton, who served as CEO of France Telecom from 2002 until 2005, and Hastings discussed options to reduce internet congestion, such as a temporary automatic switch for streaming video users from high to standard definition during peak usage hours, Politico reported. They will have another conversation in the coming days, it added.
"Streaming platforms, telecom operators and users, we all have a joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus propagation," Breton told Politico in a statement.
Netflix didn't immediately comment.
Despite concerns about congestion amid a surge in home streaming, there is limited evidence so far that networks are being overloaded beyond people on social media mentioning slow internet access.
"From our current perspective, the increase in home office and streaming services will not lead to a situation, in which the network capacities reach their limits," a representative from German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom told news agency DPA. Vodafone spokesman Volker Petendor concurred, saying the company considered itself “well equipped” for an increase in online use, noting that it was “monitoring the situation very closely day and night” and could quickly react to ease congestion if necessary.
In Italy, where the country has been on lockdown since early March, online traffic passing through Telecom Italia's national network has surged by more than two-thirds, the company said, with much of the extra activity due to online games, such as Fortnite and Call of Duty.
“We reported an increase of more than 70 percent of Internet traffic over our landline network, with a big contribution from online gaming such as Fortnite,” Telecom Italia Chief Executive Officer Luigi Gubitosi said on a call with analysts last week.
In the U.K., a spokesman for Vodafone Group's local unit said the company has been adding to network capacity ahead of planned government restrictions on public gatherings, restrictions that took effect this week.
The issue of ensuring broadband connectivity has also been a topic in the U.S. where companies, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint, have taken the Federal Communications Commission’s "Keep Americans Connected Pledge," agreeing late last week that for 60 days they will not to cut internet service for customers, whether individuals or small businesses, that are unable to pay their bills due to the coronavirus and that they will waive late fees connected with the pandemic.
Scott Roxborough in Cologne contributed to this report.
