TalkTalk ISP Data Claims Commuter Towns are Home Working Hubs

New data from UK broadband ISP TalkTalk, which examined the internet usage of their customers between January to August 2020, has helped the provider to identify the top 20 British hub locations for Home Working. Overall Huddersfield saw the largest increase of network data usage (37%).

One of the big changes to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the mass national adoption of home working, which enabled many office workers to continue working even while their usual place of business had to be closed. The move helped to show a lot of businesses just what might be possible, while at the same time also highlighting some well-known weak points of existing broadband connectivity (many people have since upgraded their packages, where they have the option).

At a national level, TalkTalk’s data also found that at least 1 in 6 of their customers had “doubled their upload usage” during lockdown, which reflects both the increase in business traffic (sending emails, files, video conferencing etc.) and greater use social media and video calls by family members etc.

Interestingly the provider’s data, which only includes a single large city (Leeds), may suggest that the shift towards home working could provide a boost for communities outside of the UK’s major urban centres, which are traditionally abandoned by a large proportion of their workforce during weekdays.

Top 20 UK Home Working Hubs by TalkTalk

We should point out that this study is far too limited in scope to be able to definitively confirm that the usage increase seen in each area is primarily as a result of home working. On top of that it’s worth considering that general data usage tends to increase by at least 30% or more each year as part of a normal trend, even without the impact of COVID-19.

For example, Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2019 report saw the average monthly data volumes per household on fixed broadband connections rise to 315 GigaBytes in 2019 (up from 240GB in 2018), which reflects an annual increase of 31.25%. Suffice to say that TalkTalk’s conclusion should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Tristia Harrison, CEO of TalkTalk, said:

“This data shows us just how much lockdown has changed work life patterns. With a fast, reliable broadband connection, homeworkers can be just as productive as they were in the office. The new hybrid home office working life is here to stay. With so many towns at the centre of the UK’s home working revolution, it’s never been more important that people have affordable, reliable connectivity and that we invest in our broadband infrastructure outside major urban areas.”

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