Deutsche Telekom’s latest New Year’s Eve figures once again show a sharp rise in mobile network usage. Between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, more than 3,900 terabytes of data flowed through the network – an increase of almost 35 per cent compared to the previous year (2,900 terabytes).
The first hour of the new year was particularly striking, with the upload volume twice as high as on a normal night. This was mainly due to New Year’s greetings in the form of videos, photos and voice messages.
From the network operator’s point of view, this growth is presented as a success story: the network coped with the load ‘without any problems’ and ran smoothly. However, a critical view reveals one thing above all: peak loads are becoming increasingly extreme and are highly concentrated in terms of time. Within a few minutes – especially between midnight and 1 a.m. – usage peaks occur that are significantly higher than normal daily business. The fact that such loads can now be routinely absorbed speaks in favour of the expansion, but at the same time highlights the constant pressure on the infrastructure to scale up.
The picture remains ambivalent when it comes to traditional telephone calls. A total of around twelve million calls were made on the mobile network – similar to the previous year, but more than twice as many as on a normal night (around five million). Between midnight and 1 a.m., call volume was almost 20 times higher than usual. In addition, there were 800,000 text messages in this hour alone, which is 60 per cent more than usual. Despite all the data-driven communication, traditional phone calls remain relevant on New Year’s Eve.
Regionally, there is little change: the city ranking remains unchanged, with Berlin, Hamburg and Munich at the top, followed by Cologne and Frankfurt. Usage therefore continues to be heavily concentrated in the most populous metropolitan regions – an indication of where network capacities need to be particularly high.
One positive aspect is the slight decline in emergency calls. A total of just over 62,000 emergency calls were received via Telekom’s networks, slightly fewer than in the previous year. However, the extreme concentration remains striking: between 0:10 a.m. and 0:15 a.m., almost 2,000 emergency calls were received. These few minutes in particular show how critical network stability is not only for convenience, but also for public safety.
Telekom points to its network management centre, which is staffed 365 days a year, and increased readiness around the turn of the year. The figures prove that these measures are effective. At the same time, they raise the question of how sustainable a network operation is that must regularly be designed for extreme, short-term peak loads – and how this model can be reconciled with the ever-growing appetite for data in terms of economics and energy in the future.
