With in-person meetings all but non-existent, voice and video calls have tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from Parks Associates, underscoring voice service’s importance as a vital lifeline.
Parks Associates’ Market Snapshot, developed in conjunction with the DECT Forum, said that as of May, nearly one-third (30%) of U.S. broadband households had one remote worker, with nearly a quarter (22%) reporting more than one adult was working from the home.
As a result, voice and video calls increased sharply for many of the major telecom providers – Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon. Outside of the U.S., Deutsche Telekom, Virgin Media and Orange Group also had sharp increases in mobile and voice volume.
The research found that despite the continuing decline of landline phones, they are still essential lifelines for many, particularly the elderly and those living in rural communities. According to the research firm, the pandemic has highlighted the value of traditional landlines as many of the elderly and others have been sheltered at-home for months, and have ventured out less than before, even as shelter-in-place rules have been relaxed.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the globe are reaching out via voice calls from home for both personal and professional reasons,” said Brad Russell, Parks Associates research director, connected home, in a prepared statement. “The combination of shelter-in-place, work-from-home, school-from-home, and other new from-home lifestyles has led many consumers to rediscover the value in voice. This opens new value for fixed-line telephony as many mobile networks have struggled to keep up with the increased usage.”
Russell added: “Telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and independent living solutions will all require telephony support. Service providers and regulators would be wise to consider how fixed-line calling (traditional and VoIP) continues to figure significantly in long-term network strategy and how new service bundles might serve the emerging work-from-home and eldercare markets.”