According to Yettel’s traffic data, festivalgoers used nearly 54 terabytes of mobile data. To meet the surge in demand, the mobile operator added network capacity equivalent to the needs of the city of Szombathely. With an investment of more than HUF 50 million, Yettel increased its overall network capacity by 20% compared with the previous year, while 5G capacity was increased by 40%. Visitors made intensive use of the enhanced Yettel network around the clock throughout the event. An analysis of traffic data for the entire festival period from 9 to 16 August, including the minus-one and zero days, reveals several interesting insights.
Mobile traffic peaked during the first three days
13 August was the busiest day in terms of data traffic, with musicians including Lewis Capaldi and Florence + The Machine on the Main Stage. Based on the total duration of incoming and outgoing calls, visitors spent the most time on the phone on 11 August, when Zara Larsson and Sombr also performed at the festival. The number of SMS messages sent and received peaked on 12 August, the day Twenty One Pilots and Kispál és a Borz performed.
The peak hours also reflect the rhythm of the festival: over the course of the full Sziget week, visitors spent the most time on calls between 8 and 9 pm on 11 August, while SMS traffic peaked an hour later, between 9 and 10 pm. Data traffic reached its highest level on the same festival day, just after midnight, between 12 and 1 am on 12 August.
International roaming: Dutch and Italian visitors led the way among guests from 66 countries
Nearly half of this year’s festival audience came from abroad, and they made good use of their mobile phones throughout the event. Among visitors from a total of 66 countries using the Yettel network, people from the Netherlands were the most active mobile data users, while Italians made the most calls. France and Romania followed in both categories, although in a different order: France ranked second for data usage, while Romania took second place for call minutes. Roaming visitors from countries including Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Kenya and Chile also used their mobile phones on the Yettel network during the festival.
In total, 53.8 terabytes of data were transferred over the Yettel network during the festival, 14% more than last year. That amount of data would be enough to stream music online continuously and with no loss for more than 15.5 years. The data traffic during an average seven-day period before the festival, between 29 June and 5 July, was only a fraction of that. During Sziget, mobile data usage increased several hundredfold.
To handle the significant surge in traffic, Yettel, the festival’s official telecommunications partner, prepared for the event with network capacity comparable to that required by a town the size of Szombathely. This capacity was around 20% higher than the additional infrastructure deployed for last year’s festival, a level that proved justified as data traffic increased by 14% year on year. Yettel also supported festivalgoers with free Wi-Fi and mobile charging stations, helping them stay connected to the high-speed network and fully immerse themselves in the festival experience.