







© dpa

Netflix – the screen could soon remain black in Switzerland.





Home office, e-learning, streaming – in Switzerland the Swisscom network has not withstood the stress test of the corona crisis. Now the Federal Council is considering a stop for Netflix and Co.

That Swiss workers, students and schoolchildren in the Corona crisis work and learn from home – and therefore also have to stream a lot of video content, Swisscom’s mobile and fixed network apparently currently cannot cope. Not to mention the increased use of streaming services like Netflix. One Report of the Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ) After, there were repeated bottlenecks in the network of the country’s largest telecommunications operator on Monday. The Federal Council has now threatened to stop Netflix and Co.

Swisscom: enormous strain on the infrastructure

According to its own statements, on the first day of the quasi curfew in our neighboring country, Swisscom recorded an enormous increase in the load on the infrastructure. There were three times more calls via the mobile network than on normal days. The volume in the fixed network has also increased massively. There are still reserves in the data network, as a Swisscom spokeswoman for the NZZ said. However, due to a hardly predictable usage behavior of the customers, a selective overload of the infrastructure is not excluded.

To be on the safe side, Swisscom has already appealed to customers to use the telecommunications networks sensibly and responsibly. The needs of systemically important business customers are currently prioritized. However, the Swiss Federal Council has already interfered, and politicians have also appealed for economical use of the Internet. This is to save resources for important services. If serious bottlenecks arise, the federal government “has the option to restrict or block non-supply-related services,” it said.

Netflix could shut down

In plain text, should the Swisscom network be overloaded, video streaming services such as Netflix could – at least temporarily – be switched off. Swisscom spokesman Armin Pesteli wanted this on request from Golem at least don’t deny it. “In exceptional situations, the Federal Council determines which services providers of telecommunications services have to provide in accordance with Article 47 of the Telecommunications Act,” says Schadeli. The behavior of the population is now crucial. If the capacity bottlenecks continue, Swisscom would “simply no longer be able to route the corresponding services,” said the Swisscom spokesman.

Notice on our own behalf: Due to the corona pandemic, entire companies are switching to home offices in Germany. But how does it actually work – and what do employers and employees have to consider? The new t3n Guide provides practical and understandable answers. Right this way: Free home office guide: productive at home despite Corona!

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