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Fluidata finds riots spark surge in business broadband traffic
Levels of data usage were up 60 per cent on previous highs earlier this week.
The telecoms firm has reported spikes in data consumption in recent weeks as employees watched the Wimbledon Championships on their office computers and kept up to date with media mogul Rupert Murdoch's appearance in parliament.
However, the traffic generated by business broadband users in the past week has been unprecedented, with levels measured on Tuesday (August 9th 2011) standing at 60 per cent above previous highs. According to Fluidata, around half of this data was generated by the BBC iPlayer.
Usage was seen to tail off quickly in the late afternoon and early evening as workers began heading home.
"The internet looks to be the first port of call for most business workers during any major news event such as Wimbledon or Mr Murdoch," commented Michael Fevyer of Fluidata. "However, nothing compares to riots and looting [in terms of web traffic]."
Last month, the internet service provider revealed traffic had surged by almost 70 per cent during the Wimbledon quarter-finals, although a greater rise was seen during the culture, media and sport select committee meetings.
The Murdochs' appearance on July 19th saw data usage rise by 45 per cent on regular levels and surpassed the highest amount of consumption recorded throughout the tennis tournament.
A peak was seen at around 15:00 BST on the day when Rupert Murdoch was being grilled by Tom Watson, the Labour MP for West Bromwich East, while another spike was recorded around two hours later when Johnnie Marbles attempted to hit the News Corp chief with a foam pie.
"With the plethora of social media platforms available and the number of internet streaming services that broadcast major events live, it's to be expected that people will try to access these sites while at work," said Piers Daniell of Fluidata.