FORT WORTH — A memo to workers at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth lays bare the frustrations of many employers as costly Internet bandwidth is devoured by workers downloading videos or streaming music and live radio.
Computer operations at some companies have reportedly been brought to a halt because of recreational use of the Web on the job.
The giant defense contractor told employees Monday that it was blocking Pandora and other music-streaming sites, online radio stations and gaming sites, as well as sites that stream sports and entertainment audio or video.
Such sites were consuming 10 percent of Lockheed Martin's bandwidth capacity. At the same time, the company's bandwidth use is growing nearly 25 percent a year, said the memo, a copy of which the Star-Telegram obtained.
"I can tell you this wasn't an easy decision to make," Mark Peden, vice president of information systems, said in the memo. "Many of you will be disappointed by this action, and I certainly understand why."
Lockheed spokesman Joe Stout said Tuesday that he did not have the company's bandwidth costs and wasn't sure it could be disclosed.
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