Comcast and Verizon see network usage settle-in

The spike in network traffic is starting to flatten with subscribers settling into their work from home (WFH) routines. Comcast's residential broadband traffic increases were starting to plateau in most of its markets, including in cities such as San Francisco and Seattle that were among the first to implement stay-at-home measures. Verizon said that for the second straight week its data usage was basically flat or down slightly week-over-week—including gaming, streaming video, virtual private network (VPN) connections, web browsing and social media—indicating that its subscribers have settled into their new routines. While Verizon didn't break out specific numbers in the update on its network performance during the COVID-19 crisis, Comcast highlighted several areas. Since March 1, Comcast, which operates the largest residential operator network in the US, saw a 32% spike in upstream traffic and an 18% increase in downstream traffic.