2021 Network Report

After hitting historic peaks in 2020, traffic on the Comcast network grew again in 2021. Data show a gradual shift throughout the year toward pre-pandemic traffic patterns. This included peak downstream traffic once again increasing faster than upstream traffic, and peak usage times shifting from earlier in the day to later in the evening. Peak downstream (download) traffic increased 11 percent over 2020 levels, while peak upstream (upload) traffic increased 5 percent. While less dramatic than the historic spikes of 2020 – when peak downstream traffic rose 38 percent and upstream traffic grew 56 percent – it is noteworthy that demand continued to increase even from historic 2020 highs.

• Peak downstream traffic increased approximately 11 percent over 2020 levels
• Peak upstream traffic increased approximately 5 percent over 2020 levels
• Traffic patterns remained highly asymmetrical, as peak downstream traffic grew 2x faster than upstream traffic, more closely mirroring pre-pandemic trends
• Network asymmetry increased throughout the year, with total downstream traffic volumes 12.4x higher than upstream for the first 6 months of the year, and 14.5x higher for the last six months
• Daily peak times shifted toward pre-pandemic norms throughout the year – peak upstream traffic times were 10 am in January, 3 pm in June, and 10 pm in December
• Streaming, web browsing, and gaming all saw the largest increases in network consumption with a 10-20 percent increase for all three categories
• Similar to last year, entertainment activities dominated peak network traffic, with video streaming accounting for 71 percent of downstream traffic (same as 2020)
• Other activities that contributed to peak downstream traffic include both online gaming and web browsing which both increased their share of network usage by 1 percentage point over 2020 levels
• Videoconferencing as a share of peak network traffic decreased slightly in 2021, remaining less than 5 percent
• Even as network demand grew, Comcast increased speeds for its most popular Xfinity speed tiers in 2021, including increasing gig speeds to 1.2 gigabits-per-second.