Verizon CEO: Network during coronavirus surge is being 'put to the test,' holding up well
Vestburg said Verizon's networks are 'being put to the test'
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Verizon Communications CEO Hans Vestberg said Friday that Verizon network usage has surged amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the company is "holding up well."
Reports of slowing Internet speeds in the U.S. and throughout Europe have led video streaming services like Netflix and YouTube to reduce video quality from high definition to standard definition in an effort to avoid network disruption for the increasing number of people working from home amid the virus outbreak.
"The network is holding up very well," Vestburg told FOX Business' Stuart Varney on "Varney & Co." "We're seeing that all of our customers, consumers, first responders and health care workers are getting all the access to data, and of course, everyone working from home."
Man working from home / iStock
Vestberg said the network has delivered more than 9 billion text messages every day, which is about the same number of texts made on New Year's, and 800 million phone calls every day, doubling the number of calls typically made on Mother's Day.
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He added that the company has also seen a 50 percent increase in virtual private network (VPN) usage and a 100 percent increase in gaming.
Scott Sedlacek, right, who says he has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, wears a mask and uses his phone to film a news conference held Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Vestburg said Verizon's networks are "being put to the test," but he is in "constant contact" with "all the big CEOs and enterprises in the country ... and so far, everything's working well."
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On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the cell network livestreams "Pay it Forward Live" concerts for small and medium community businesses "who are extremely vulnerable in this situation," Vestburg concluded. Viewers are encouraged to make donations or buy gift cards if they tune in.