Navigating the Network Storm of Black Friday Internet Traffic

As the holiday season approaches, millions of eager shoppers prepare for the shopping frenzy that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Beyond the long lines, crowded shops, and virtual carts filled with discounted bargains, a behind-the-scenes symphony of technology and telecommunications networks unfolds, crucial for ensuring a smooth and seamless experience for consumers worldwide.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this annual shopping extravaganza is the staggering surge in internet traffic. Over the Black Friday weekend, internet usage skyrockets, at times reaching up to 10 times its usual volume. This surge is fuelled by millions of people eagerly taking advantage of the deals offered by retailers both in-store and online.

The implications for telecoms networks are substantial. The surge in internet traffic requires a robust and flexible infrastructure to handle the increased load. Telecommunications companies worldwide implement strategic measures to ensure that the surge in data doesn’t lead to network congestion or, worse, downtime. These efforts are critical to maintaining a positive customer experience during the peak shopping season.

To address the colossal demand, telecoms and technology networks implement world-wide freezes to ensure the digital infrastructure can deal with the surge in capacity.

Black Friday Internet Traffic

At the heart of this complex operation is the role of companies like Indigo, whose Field Engineers, Network Operations Centre (NOC), and Global Service Desk (GSD) play a pivotal role in monitoring, reacting, and resolving incidents around the world. From subsea cable systems to datacentres and street-side cabinets, Indigo’s teams are on high alert, 24x7x365, ensuring that the network remains resilient and responsive.

Indigo operates under tight Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to keep the savings flowing and customers coming back for more. The importance of meeting these SLAs during peak shopping events cannot be overstated. Any downtime or disruption in service could mean lost sales, frustrated customers, and damage to a company’s reputation.

Subsea cable systems, the lifelines of global connectivity, are particularly crucial during this time. These cables, laid across the ocean floor, enable high-speed data transmission between continents. Indigo’s NOC is responsible for ensuring the reliability of these cables, monitoring for any signs of damage or degradation that could impact the flow of data.

Datacentres, the nerve centers of the internet, also face increased pressure during the holiday shopping season. The demand for computing power, storage, and network resources spikes as online transactions surge. Indigo’s NOC is at the forefront, continuously monitoring the health of data centers, identifying and addressing any issues that could disrupt services. We can get field engineers dispatched to a data centre within a 2 hour or 4 hour timeframe (depending on our agreed SLAs).

Street-side cabinets, often overlooked but integral to the last-mile connectivity, are another critical component. Indigo’s teams are deployed to these cabinets, ensuring that they are functioning optimally to provide seamless connectivity to homes and businesses.

The Global Service Desk (GSD) is the frontline support, ready to assist customers facing any connectivity issues.Our GSD coordinators– who manage more than 25,000 service requests- and multi-vendor skilled field engineers can provide on-site support in hours, the next day, or at a pre-arranged time. We prioritize every call depending on each customer-agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA). 

Telecoms Network Resilience