Internet access to services such as entertainment and gaming could be rationed if networks come under severe strain, experts have warned.

"If we end up in a situation where worldwide, 850m children start to receive lessons virtually for an extended period of time, then networks might want to start prioritising video traffic over gaming traffic," said Matthew Howett, principal analyst at Assembly.

Broadband providers like BT have said they are confident their systems will be able to cope with the expected high levels of demand.

However, video streaming services are already beginning to make changes to respond to concerns about heavy use of data.

This week, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube said they would reduce the quality of videos streamed in Europe to standard definition, which could reduce traffic by 25pc.

Currently, high definition films on Netflix use around three times more data than standard definition.

The French government has also reportedly asked Disney to suspend the launch of its video streaming service which is scheduled to launch in the country as well as the UK on March 24.

In a worst-case scenario, other online activities such as gaming, may be throttled to keep internet traffic flowing for healthcare and educational services. Such a decision could alarm advocates of net neutrality, a set of regulations in place in many countries around the world which require operators to treat internet traffic neutrally.