CNBC

While much of the US hunkers down to work and shop online, large swaths of the country are trying to cope without an internet connection, leaving millions of households cut off from vital services and information during the pandemic. Here’s what the digital divide looks like across the U.S. In counties with the deepest shade of orange, half of households don’t have access to the internet.

The coronavirus outbreak and the rise in remote work has advanced the need for more robust 5G technologies in the US. Verizon stated March 18 that the demands on bandwidth increased 75% over the previous week. The Federal Communications Commission and federal government are trying to accelerate deployment in urban and rural areas. But, the global pandemic has forced a supply chain slowdown that may delay further expansion of 5G.