How much data does the UK consume in a second?
Whilst sat browsing the Internet, streaming a catch up show on the TV, I wondered, if you add up all the ones and zeros being consumed and produced by every Internet connection in the country, what number does that come to? Ofcom (the UK telecoms regulator) reports that in 2020 the average speed of a broadband connection in the UK was 80.2Mb/s. Also reported was the total number of broadband connections at 27.49 million. So therefor the speed of the UK Internet is 27.49 million multiplied by 80.2Mb/s right? Well that sum comes out at 2,204,698,000,000,000 bits/s or 2,205 Terabits/second or 'a lot' in simple terms. In truth the reality is a little more complicated. In the same way that the roads aren't designed for everyone who owns a car to travel at the same time the Internet isn't factored to allow everyone to use their Internet connection at its maximum speed all of the time (see a future blog on 'Contention Ratio'). Also reported is that the average data usa...