Wi-Fi May Slow, But Low-Income Access Is Key COVID-19 Issue

As large amounts of daytime internet traffic shift from offices and schools to home networks, telecommunications experts predict that for most users, the existing web infrastructure is robust enough to handle the upswing in streaming, conference calling and distance learning. That may not be the case for low-income Americans who struggle to get online in the first place, however. While general Wi-Fi users may see bottlenecks at times, advocates assert that preserving internet access for low-income Americans will dominate as a larger issue amid the coronavirus pandemic. Those most likely to suffer from low-quality internet — or a lack of a connection at all — are cash-strapped families that rely on prepaid phone plans, broadband plans with data caps and access to networks at now-shuttered schools and libraries. Although federal regulators are limited in what they can require providers to make available to low-income users, they can persuade them to temporarily offer more robust services or can ease restrictions on government programs designed to encourage service to underserved communities. Regulators and community institutions will have to think creatively about how to address those shortcomings, according to John Windhausen, executive director of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition.