Broadband usage rates jumped in Q1. Will it last?

Perhaps no one should be surprised that, in the age of streaming, videoconferencing, and multi-player gaming, along with a sprinkle of virtual reality, average and median home broadband usage continues to climb. However, it was perhaps somewhat unexpected that the rate of growth declined of late, according to OpenVault, which puts out its quarterly Broadband Insights report based on aggregated and anonymized data from an array of broadband operators. But it may be too early to call this a trend. OpenVault's Q1 2025 report found that average downstream and upstream usage accelerated a bit, for a combined 663 gigabytes versus 606GB in the year-ago period. OpenVault said this rise in the usage rate (17.6 percent for upstream and 8.9 percent for the downstream) was the biggest jump since 2022—just a couple years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic caused millions to work and school from home.