Why the internet (probably) won’t break during the coronavirus pandemic

The internet itself is an incredibly robust and resilient network that was specifically designed to adapt to huge spikes in traffic just like the one we’re living through. The platforms and apps that make the internet useful, however, are less tested. So the good news is, America’s internet is better prepared for this pandemic than you think. The bad news is that Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and others are worried that their platforms might not be able to handle this. Lucky for you, many experts think that everything will be fine.

The “last mile” is where you might start running into some problems right now. It’s the part of the internet infrastructure that consumer-facing internet service providers (ISPs) like Spectrum or Comcast control. If there’s going to be a bottleneck for traffic anywhere, there’s a good chance it’s either going to be along the last mile or even inside your home. Most residential broadband connections link the larger internet, which is fiber-based, to your home through an aging cable infrastructure. In markets like the US, which are primarily served by cable operators, this means a likely place for bottlenecks is in upload capacity. If you’ve got a fiber connection, you should ask your ISP about getting symmetrical upload and download speeds.