Coronavirus has made peak internet usage into the new normal

Millions of people are working from home, children are attending school remotely, and they've all turned to their home broadband connections to stay connected. So far networks in the US and the world have been holding up even as usage spikes. But will it continue? "To be honest, I think we just don't know the answer," said Jon Sallet, a senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and a former general counsel at the Federal Communications Commission. "But that's something the FCC should be asking the nation's broadband providers and telling the American people the answer." FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel agrees. She said agency "needs to report daily on the state of communications networks in this country" just as it does following natural disasters, like hurricanes and power outages. "It needs to do this here. Now. Because these are the networks we are all counting on for some semblance of modern life."  Sallet says it's crucial that the FCC collect data to know how the networks perform during this crisis. "This is a really important question that needs answering," Sallet said. "As Congress looks at how to rebuild our economy and a stimulus package, broadband will play an essential role. But we need to know what worked and what didn't."