
We have compiled the Covid-19 related news of the past week with a potential impact on the TMT sector, focusing on the telecoms and media markets. Besides our own coverage, we also provide links to some content from global sources. We categorize the news in a handful of chapters: traffic and events; demand and supply; impact; relief funds; and metadata.
Traffic up, events cancelled
Telecom traffic
- Analyzing the U.S. Mobile Experience during the coronavirus pandemic: Time on Wifi
- Kcom full-fibre broadband network usage triples during lockdown
- Telkom Kenya records 50% jump in data use, residential areas see most growth
- Vodacom South Africa records 40% surge in data traffic
- Kyivstar reports fixed data traffic up 20%
- Rogers sees over 50% jump in network traffic from COVID-19
- Overall internet traffic is stabilizing and in some cases decreasing (BEREC)
- Wi-Fi Calling Minutes Jump 96%
- Comcast sees spike in 'xFi' usage
- Vodafone New Zealand sees voice traffic jump 60% in week 5 lockdown
- GSMA cancels MWC Shanghai 2020
- FEI expects ‘€6m to €7m’ loss from Covid-19 effect
- Georgia to Reopen Movie Theaters on April 27
- Most Movie Theaters in Georgia Won’t Reopen Next Week Despite Governor’s Plans
- IFC Films Will Allow Indie Theaters to Screen Library Titles for Free
- NBA wants to finish rest of the season; start next season in December
- Bundesliga could resume on May 9 as regional governments discuss options
- Government ruling set to end Eredivisie season
- Disney Resort Opens With Green QR Code Checks In Shanghai
- New York Emmys to Take Place With Livestream That Could Serve as New Awards Template
- New Document Lays Out Plan to Resume Movie and TV Productions With Strict Quarantine Pods
- ‘Spider-Man’ Sequels Pushed Back Amid Sony Release Schedule Shuffle
Service demand and supply changes
Telecom demand & supply
- Videotron extends unlimited data on internet plans to 30 June
- Rogers helps Ontario students access online learning during Covid-19 pandemic
- Siminn continues to provide unlimited domestic internet, mobile data in May
- BH Telecom enables free use of location tracking service
- HT Eronet provides donation for Digital School Platform
- LMT provides hospitals, ambulance stations with services, equipment
- TIM brings film-based initiative to Italian schools
- Movistar offers free unlimited data
- Vodafone UK delivers mobile, broadband connectivity for NHS hospitals
- Proximus upgrades upload speeds for broadband customers
- Molotov helps children with e-learning during Covid-19 lockdown
- Unicef, Microsoft launch global learning platform for students at home
- Coronavirus Fatigue Signals Need For Fresh Strategies
- Showtime Sees Pop in Streaming Sign-Ups, Viewership Amid Coronavirus Lockdown
Impact on telecoms and media mostly negative
Telecom impact
- Global mayors launch Covid-19 recovery task force
- A3 reduces dividend proposal
- ‘Freeze Time:’ How Long Can Data Center Supply Chains Hold Out?
- Etihad Atheeb says sales hit by Covid-19 measures
- Safaricom forecasts 7% Covid-19 hit to M-Pesa revenue
- Tele2 drops extra dividend in order to conserve cash
- MediaMarktSaturn reopens shops of up to 800 m2
- Vodafone Idea gets USD 200 mln cash injection from Vodafone Group
- Gigaclear issues Coronavirus operational update
- Altice Portugal says pandemic has 'major impact' on revenues
- Fox Sports agrees to pay final Eredivisie rights fee tranche
- U.S. TV Average Ad Spending To Sink 25% In The First 6 Months Of 2020: eMarketer
- Meredith Corp Responds To COVID-19: Issues Pay Reductions, Salary And Hiring Freeze
- Advertisers Press For Fall Upfront Sales As TV’s $20 Billion Market Falls Apart
- Patreon lays off 13% of workforce
- Telenet wants money back for Belgian football games not played
- Proximus echoes Telenet calls for Pro League refund, ends club sponsorships
- Fox Corp. Cuts Senior Exec Salaries Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
- AMC Theatres Sued by Florida Landlord for Not Paying Rent
- The last days of Cirque du Soleil: How COVID-19 brought down an entertainment empire
- Nent says IIHF rights fee refunded, expects same for other cancelled events
- Rai and Eurosport ‘seek rights fee cut’ from Lega Basket
- Liberty Media moves to shore up F1 finances
- RTL to start short-time work for 4,000 employees from May due to Covid-19 crisis
Relief funds created in and for the telecoms and media sectors
Telecom relief funds
- Jazz offers PKR 50 mln for govt's COVID-19 Relief Fund
- BTC donates BWP 2 mln to Covid-19 relief fund
- Vodafone Hungary Foundation launches employee fundraiser campaign
- Batelco donates BHD 3.5 mln for charity campaign
- Ooredoo Oman raises OMR 20,000 to combat Covid-19
- MTN Zambia offers government support in fight against Covid-19
- Telenor contributes PKR 50 mln to government's COVID 19 Relief Fund
- Orange Spain donates 2,200 smartphones to Catalan hospitals and care homes
- Altice USA commits USD 10 mln to support Small Business Recovery
- The UK has greenlit a $300 million rescue package to stop thousands of startups collapsing during COVID-19
- Rakuten to offer COVID-19 testing kits to employees, partner companies
- Microsoft Bing Partners With GoFundMe To Support Small Businesses
- UK’s Covid-19 Film & TV relief fund calls for donations as claims top $6m
Usage and location data to battle the virus
Metadata
- Tracking and tracing COVID:Protecting privacy and data while using apps and biometrics (OECD)
- How Control Theory Can Help Us Control COVID-19 (IEEE)
- Instagram founders launch COVID-19 spread tracker Rt.live
- Facebook, Carnegie Mellon Launch COVID Tracker
- France’s Inria and Germany’s Fraunhofer detail their ROBERT contact-tracing protocol
- Mark Zuckerberg: How data can aid the fight against covid-19
- Europe's coronavirus-tracing apps risk an unprecedented increase in mass surveillance, experts warned
- Apple-Google COVID-19 contact-tracing efforts should alarm us all
- HPE, IBM, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook sign Covid-19 open source patents pledge
- EU official says Apple, Google Covid-19 tracing software to be ready by 28 April
- Apple and Google pledge to shut down coronavirus tracker when pandemic ends