“We support the need for careful management of telecom services to ensure they can handle the increased internet demand with so many people now at home full-time due to COVID-19,” Amazon said in a statement to TechCrunch this morning. “Prime Video is working with local authorities and Internet Service Providers where needed to help mitigate any network congestion, including in Europe where we’ve already begun the effort to reduce streaming bitrates whilst maintaining a quality streaming experience for our customers.”
Netflix was the first to take steps toward reducing internet congestion in Europe on Thursday. “Following the discussions between Commissioner Thierry Breton and Reed Hastings — and given the extraordinary challenges raised by the coronavirus — Netflix has decided to begin reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days,” the company said in a statement.
YouTube followed with an announcement this morning, saying “We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default.”
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