Despite more students and workers connecting from home, no early usage surge

With schools closed, and so many businesses shutting their doors or sending workers home, some are wondering if the province's Internet infrastructure will buckle under an expected surge in data usage.

But if Monday is any indication the first day that students were at home since schools were closed the networks should be just fine.

Rogers, for example, didn't register a "measurable" increase in traffic compared to a typical weekday, said Heather Robinson, director, Regional Public Affairs.

Bell and TELUS did not provide usage information on Tuesday.

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While it's unclear how many more people will be working from home, Robinson said normal workplace usage requires less bandwidth than streaming and gaming, but that Rogers will continue to keep an eye on traffic and make changes, if necessary.

"We know how important it is for our customers to stay connected," she said, "and we build resiliency across our operations with contingency plans to keep our customers connected. We are ready to manage capacity quickly if we see greater consumer demand or usage patterns change significantly."

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Before recent measures were taken to try to limit the spread of COVID-19 when students were in school and workers were at their desks Robinson said peak hours were typically between 6 p.m. and midnight. While we may see peak data usage shift from evening to daytime, Rogers's network can manage changing demands.

The so-called "big three" internet providers Rogers, Bell and TELUS have all waived overage charges and some other fees.

Rogers will also remove data usage caps until May 31 so customers don't have to worry about overage charges, according to a release from the company. It will also waive long-distance calling fees for customers across all of their brands.

The message from the company also said services will not be suspended or disconnected for those customers "experiencing financial difficulties over the next 90 days."

The telecom giants are also scaling back some of their retail operations.

Telus, for example, will temporarily close all corporate kiosks across the country and step up cleaning measures in its stores, including providing "additional hygiene measures, sanitization and safety products," states the company's website.

J.D. Irving is one of many companies across New Brunswick also dealing with the ever-evolving situation as best it can, said the company's vice-president of communications, Mary Keith.

She said the company is trying to enable as many employees as possible to work from home. Those who are left will be subject to changes in the workplace, including "significantly increased sanitization and disinfection protocols at all of our facilities," she said.

"We are adapting guidance from public health and government authorities with respect to social distancing," said Keith. "We have stopped all international travel and all domestic air travel."

J.D. Irving employees will also be provided up to three paid emergency leave days "to help adjust to the closure of schools and daycares, and other extenuating circumstances," said Keith.

On Monday, Premier Blaine Higgs announced all non-essential government services will be shut down until further notice.

He said employees will remain on standby and available to be deployed to help in critical service areas, either because critical staff are sick or because additional staff are needed.

On Tuesday, Higgs estimated that between 60 to 70 per cent of provincial employees are now working from home.