> why netflix et al have reduced stream quality due to increased load?
This is not quite true - it's less about _Netflix's_ load and more about load on the _access networks_ (end-user ISPs).
They are seeing longer peaks, increased congestion (fewer folks are leaving their homes), and thus the reduction in default streaming quality by many streaming platforms was a move to limit congestion on these last-mile networks (and some IXs) where possible.
The EU & India anticipated the most congestion here, which is why you likely saw these announcements start with the EU before becoming global, as other ISPs/IXs/govts began to think about the same.
Disclosure: I work for Google in this space, but don't represent them here.
This is not quite true - it's less about _Netflix's_ load and more about load on the _access networks_ (end-user ISPs).
They are seeing longer peaks, increased congestion (fewer folks are leaving their homes), and thus the reduction in default streaming quality by many streaming platforms was a move to limit congestion on these last-mile networks (and some IXs) where possible.
The EU & India anticipated the most congestion here, which is why you likely saw these announcements start with the EU before becoming global, as other ISPs/IXs/govts began to think about the same.
Disclosure: I work for Google in this space, but don't represent them here.