Do Your Part – Schedule Meetings at :15 and :45

With so many companies and individuals making a move to remote work at the same time, employees shifting to work from home, schools going online, families having online meals, and friends having virtual happy hours, it’s no surprise that video conference services and phone and internet networks are seeing an unprecedented increase in usage.

Have you taught a family member how to use Zoom/Hangouts/WebEx in the last two weeks?  I know I have. My family has also had remote physical therapy, a video conference birthday party, and a second family member start working remotely from our house, along with online eschool (times two!)

All of this means that our nation’s internet and voice networks have seen tremendous demands in network capacity – and while they are all strong, solid networks, the more we use them, the more we strain the underlying infrastructure.

Turns out, there’s an unbelievably easy way to help!  Right now, most virtual meetings and conference calls are naturally scheduled to start on the hour or on the half hour – which is when networks and servers see the greatest pressures.  

Let’s just mix it up a little! Consider starting your meetings at the quarter hour, so 15 or 45 minutes past the hour.  Why? Bandwidth’s SVP of Voice Network Strategy and Evolution, Nick Sgroi, explains, “A voice or data network is not unlike a multi-lane highway. They are sized to support anticipated traffic volumes. Lots of cars hitting the road at 5PM and causing a traffic jam is similar to voice and data users all wanting to connect at the top of the hour. If we all do our part to schedule our meetings at 15 or 45 past the hour, it would dramatically reduce the strain on networks and improve everyone’s overall experience.” That’s it!  Just start your meetings and conferences at not-so-common times. You’ll be doing your part to help everyone stay connected.  

Be a network hero and make your available times similar to mine:

9:15am
10:45am
11:45am
1:15pm
3:45pm