The global outbreak of COVID-19—and its associated economic and social impact—has upended the way billions of people live their lives.
Has it had an impact on international calling?
We queried a number of international operators to find out. Only a bare majority of operators responding to the survey we sent out in late 2020 reported that they had, in fact, seen a jump in international call volumes as the pandemic tightened its grip in March. (Nearly a third saw a dip in traffic compared to the year before.)
Only a Minor Traffic Jam
Carriers Reporting Year-on-Year Traffic Increase, March 2020
The bump in traffic was short-lived, however. Only 4% of carriers reported that traffic levels remained elevated by the second and third quarters of the year.