Abstract
The emergence of COVID-19 and its spread all over the world caused a significant increase in network traffic. Therefore, for more secure and consistent communications, it is crucial to investigate the factors that affect network traffic. In this study, the review of COVID-19 consequences on global telecommunication networks with an emphasis on network traffic is presented. The impact of lockdown on digital telecommunication networks in various countries around the globe is investigated. The rapid expansion of the virus forced countries to set up lockdown measures, and this caused people to stay at home; therefore, network traffic increased significantly from March 2020 to the middle of April, and then it slightly changed to be more stabilized until the middle of May 2020. Such increased network traffic has affected many aspects, such as mobile networks, roaming factors, and economic situations. In this research, supporting programs to protect network connectivity are studied around the globe. In a situation where people are mostly working remotely, security is a challenging issue that should be taken into careful consideration. This study provides a broad understanding of how COVID-19 affected digital communications and how governments responded to unprecedented crises.