Housebound Italian kids strain network with Fortnite marathon

The amount of data passing through Telecom Italia SpA’s national network has surged by more than two-thirds in the past two weeks, the company said, with a lot of that extra activity due to online games such as Fortnite. — TNS

Italy’s school shutdown is driving a surge in Internet traffic as kids turn to online video games to stave off boredom.

With schools, shops and restaurants closed in an attempt to limit Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, the amount of data passing through Telecom Italia SpA’s national network has surged by more than two-thirds in the past two weeks, the company said.