Brits watched more telly and hoovered up record amounts of data in 2020, Virgin Media reveals

BRITS watched more telly and downloaded a record amount of data in the last year as a result of the pandemic, according to Virgin Media.

Users downloaded an extra 2.8GB of data per day on average in 2020, making it the telecoms giant's busiest year ever for home broadband use.

November was its busiest month on record for network traffic, as the country went into a second national lockdown and the new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles went on sale.

People working from home and video chatting with family also caused upload traffic to skyrocket, rising 64 per cent across the year, based on figures from January to November.

"The unexpected shift towards working, living, learning and socialising from home drove record-breaking traffic on our network," said Virgin Media's Jeff Dodds.

"Staying connected, informed, and entertained is more important than ever.

"Despite the additional demand and challenges we've faced this year, our network has played a key role in keeping the country connected to the things and people that matter most."

The small screen went through a resurgence as the nation stayed home more, according to Virgin Media's data.

Households spent an extra 21 hours on average watching TV each month, the company said.

Phone calls also hit a high, increasing by 28 per cent on average via Virgin Mobile and 21 per cent on landline.

The most mobile calls were made on March 17, shortly after the Prime Minister's address to the nation about the national lockdown.

Calls during this part of early lockdown lasted nearly twice as long (87 per cent) as before.

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