Need advice? Call our experts free on
0800 090 1342
TalkTalk sees record broadband traffic spike during Manchester derby
This week's Manchester derby helped to drive a record-breaking spike in broadband network traffic for provider TalkTalk.
Figures from the company have revealed that typical usage for its Next Generation Network service averages at around 250GB of general IP traffic per second, rising to 460GB at peak times.
However, when the crucial top-of-the-table clash between Manchester City and Manchester United kicked off on Monday night (April 30th 2012), additional traffic of 30GB per second was observed, representing a seven per cent increase.
The internet service provider revealed further data from social media company Sysomos showing that more than one million tweets were sent about the match, with around 3,000 per second still being sent 45 minutes after the final whistle blew.
TalkTalk states that the Next Generation Network held up well to the extraordinary demands placed upon it during Manchester City's victory, which offers a positive indication of how the service will perform during the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics.
Next Generation Network equipment is currently installed in more than 2,300 UK exchanges, which covers 90 per cent of the population.
"Demand for bandwidth will keep growing over the coming months and years as more people start accessing the internet on tablets, smartphones and televisions," said Clive Dorsman, managing director for TalkTalk Technology.
Last month, the company announced the launch of a new superfast fibre optic broadband service, providing download speeds of up to 80 Mbps, as well as upstream speeds of 20 Mbps which the provider describes as "unbeatable".
It claims that these speeds allow users to download a complete music album in ten seconds and a TV show in around half a minute, while a feature-length movie can be downloaded in two minutes.