Bell says Crave viewing has increased by 75 percent amid COVID-19 pandemic

Bell says that its Crave streaming service has experienced a 75 percent increase in usage amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the carrier hasn’t released a new subscriber numbers, it notes that there has been a significant increase in viewing. Bell last revealed Crave subscriber numbers back in August 2019, stating that the service had 2.7 million users at the time.

The Montreal-based national carrier says there has also been a 25 percent increase in live TV viewing. These increases in entertainment and content consumption aren’t a surprise since many people have been self-isolating at home amid the pandemic.

Internet data volumes have also increased as much as 60 percent during the day, and 20 percent in the evening. Further, there has been a 40 percent increase in rural internet usage.

Bell says landline and wireless voice traffic has increased by up to 200 percent at peak times, and conference calling is up 250 percent.

The carrier states that despite the increase in usage, it has been able to maintain overall network reliability of 99.99 percent throughout the pandemic.