CVD0570 - Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS Sectors

The novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has put unprecedented pressure on the NHS with the resultant lockdown disrupting socio-economic activities throughout the UK and indeed, across the world.
The disruption of daily life was minimized by transitioning to digital platforms. The telecommunication industry has been instrumental in ensuring that this transition is smooth and the sudden growth in demand is efficiently managed by the existing infrastructure. Digital services delivered via fixed broadband networks, as well as mobile networks contributed not only in supporting continuity of economy, for instance through online shopping, education and other infotainment applications but also enabled implementation of new services, e.g. remote or online healthcare services. Some of the new services have been deployed to devise a coordinated action in response to the pandemic. Like other industries, Covid-19 has had significant and far reaching impacts on the telecommunication industry[1]. In this submission, we present our written evidence on the impact of Covid-19 on DSMC sectors, with focus on telecommunications.