Posted: 01st Jan, 2011 By: MarkJ

KC ( Karoo ), the incumbent telecoms operator and broadband ISP for
Hull and
East Riding (Yorkshire, UK), has informed us that general internet traffic over the recent
Christmas 2010 weekend was actually "
noticeably lower" than earlier weekends. However use of internet TV and video systems, such as the BBC iPlayer service, was up by about a third compared to last
Christmas 2009.
A KC Spokeswoman told ISPreview.co.uk exclusively:
"Although we've seen broadband usage grow steadily during the past year, usage over the Christmas weekend this year was around the same as it was last year, and noticeably lower than it was in the weekends leading up to Christmas.
One difference we've found this year is in the proportion of usage related to internet TV and video such as BBC iPlayer - this was up by about a third compared to last Christmas. So it looks like while people still went online to catch up with their favourite TV over Christmas, the overall time spent online was less than usual."
The situation appears to have taken KC by surprise, "
we didn't expect this", the spokesperson added. Indeed KC had offered its customers unlimited free downloads from midnight on the 23rd December until midnight on
Boxing Day as a Christmas extra.
Naturally most people take the Christmas weekend out to relax, eat, drink and be merry. However in past years the internet has increasingly figured into people's lives, such as through popular voice communication services like
Skype. We're currently awaiting feedback from other ISPs to see if KC's experiences are unique.