Web Traffic, Video Meetings Surge as Flights Grounded

[FarCenter]

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The shutdown has forced in-person corporate meetings onto audio and video conferencing platforms, prompting a jump in demand for such services from two of the biggest European telecommunication operators.

Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe’s largest phone company, has experienced a “significant increase” in demand for conferencing services from large companies, spokesman Dirk Wende said via phone. The company declined to provide figures for the size of the rise.

Web Conferencing Surge

BT Group Plc, the largest U.K. fixed-line phone company, has seen demand for audio and video conferencing from large companies rise an unprecedented 35 percent, a spokesman said April 19. About 80 percent of the demand is for conventional audio conferencing, with the remainder for video, he said.

Operators are taking advantage of the shutdown to promote their conferencing services with special offers to corporate clients. Both Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica SA, Europe’s second-largest phone company, are offering free use of conference services, with the Spanish company’s promotion set to last until the end of the shutdown.

‘Wakeup Call’

While many companies have been open to video conferencing in principle, “the stars often weren’t aligned,” said Ofer Shapiro, chief executive officer of PC conferencing provider Vidyo Inc. “This type of event forces people to look into it,” he added. “It’s a wakeup call.”

Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch telephone company, has seen conference calls increase 5 percent and Web conferences become 20 percent more popular since airspace was closed, spokeswoman Liselore Stuut said in an e-mail. The company also offered free WiFi connections at Schiphol Airport, a hub for Air France-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline.

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Excellent news regarding the substitution of communications and information technology for air transportation. This helps reduce carbon emission and the use of fossil fuels.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I'm hoping this will be an option for the European teams who can't make it to ICU or

Cheerleading Worlds to compete this week. They've trained for a year and shelled out a ton of money. I know I would be heartbroken if I was in their shoes.

[SidDithers]

2. Perhaps there's a silver lining to the airline shutdowns...

If it forces people to try new methods of doing business, and maybe breaks them of old, wasteful habits.

Sid