Coronavirus: COAI seeks lower video streaming quality as people work from home

NEW DELHI: Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has requested the government to direct video streaming platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar to reduce their streaming quality to standard-definition (SD) as more people start working from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We believe that during this critical time, it is absolutely essential for the streaming platforms to cooperate with telecom providers so as to manage the traffic distribution patterns which are likely to strain the network infrastructure at a time when it is needed for various critical requirements,” COAI wrote in a letter to the department of telecommunications (DoT), a copy of which was seen by Mint.

The telecom operators’ association has also written to 12 streaming platforms, which include Zee5, SonyLiv and Voot, to temporarily move to SD from high definition (HD) as more and more people stay at home.