Why the internet didn't break

Between Jan 29 (shortly after COVID-19 appeared in the US) and March 26 there was a 105% spike in people active online at home between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. So why hasn’t the internet ground to a halt? The answer lies in the lessons of Mother’s Day and freeway traffic jams.

• Watching Netflix is the new Mother's Day phone call: In the days of analog telephone service, the network was designed with enough capacity to handle the surge in calls that happened on Mother’s Day and other holidays. In regards to COVID-19, Because, of Mother’s Day-like planning, network capacity was sitting there waiting for our workday usage.
• Freeway Traffic Jams: The digital internet is like a freeway: a common connection shared by many users simultaneously. When the demand on the freeway increases above a certain level, the traffic slows; it doesn’t stop like the one-lane bridge, but bumper-to-bumper data packets move at a slower rate. Users in most cities were experiencing normal network conditions, but 88 of the largest 200 U.S. cities have seen internet speeds decline in the past week.

Where the Internet has broken: The internet has already broken in one significant way: there are too many Americans for whom it is not available. Henceforth, broadband will be recognized for what it is: a critical two-way connection that can no longer be considered a luxury.

[Tom Wheeler served as the 31st chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2013-2017]