EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said he spoke to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on ways to ensure sufficient internet capacity while more people are working at home during the coronavirus crisis. On Twitter, Breton launched the hashtag #SwitchtoStandard to encourage people to use SD rather than HD video in order to conserve bandwidth.
Breton, who is in charge of the internal market and digital policy, said the telecom infrastructure may be under strain from the increase in teleworking and streaming "To secure Internet access for all, let’s #SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary," he said in a tweet.
The commissioner has urged streaming platforms to cooperate with telecom providers and temporarily downgrade the quality of video streaming by offering standard definition rather than high definition, Reuters reports. Breton said telecom operators should also take measures to lessen network congestion, and users should use settings and Wi-Fi to reduce data consumption.
Netflix said it agreed after the talks between Hastings and Breton to reduce the bandwidth for all its streams in Europe for 30 days. This should result in around 25 percent less traffic, while still maintaining quality of service for subscribers, a spokesperson told Le Monde.
An unnamed French government official told the paper they were in talks with other streaming services on adjusting their operations, and that included a possible suspension of the launch of Disney+, scheduled for 24 March. A Disney spokesperson declined to comment.
