To restore the economy, we must fix America's technology gaps

As the world raced to contain COVID-19, it effectively launched a necessary but costly experiment: Move all possible economic activity online to flatten the pandemic’s curve and save lives. But digitally recreating the economy-as-usual has its limits and the “Great Lockdown” comes with devastating economic costs. The digital experience needs fixing. Even as companies slowly return to business as usual, we’ll continue to see record numbers of people working remotely for the foreseeable future. During the peak of the surge, web traffic in San Francisco alone increased over 48 percent since the beginning of 2020. And while the internet has mostly held up, 88 out of the most populous cities critical to American productivity experienced a network slowdown by the end of March. San Jose, New York, Austin, Charlotte, Washington D.C. and Houston experienced an unacceptable 24-44 percent decline in internet speed. In aggregate, this will have significant economic costs. City governments should work with large employers to coordinate and prioritize peak-time use, much in the way municipal authorities plan for snow removal, re-routing of vehicles and synchronizing traffic lights to streamline commutes. In addition, with broadband access among the most expensive in the world, subsidies are needed to compensate for this ugly American reality. While cable and telecom companies have agreed to defer fee payments and even raise data caps temporarily, these periods have to be lengthened and the fees reduced indefinitely until there is clarity on lifting of restrictions.

[Bhaskar Chakravorti is dean of global business at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University]