Network management

In term of impact on broadband connectivity, “Covid-19 doesn’t even compare to the Superbowl or series finale of Game of Thrones,” said Federal Communications Commission Advisor Evan Swarztrauber. In other words, we're in a "so far, so good" moment: The internet seems to be balancing increased bandwidth demand with supply. Swarzrauber, policy advisor to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, added that more extreme measures to manage internet connectivity are “not necessary at this time,” praising this outcome as “a testament to the strength of the U.S. broadband networks.”

With everyone at home using so much broadband during coronavirus shutdowns, are our networks at risk of being overwhelmed? The short answer is no, according to Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr. Regarding the reduction in streaming quality in Europe by major entertainment companies, Commissioner Carr said, “We don't see any issues like that at all in the U.S. network,” he said. “We've pushed more high capacity spectrum out to wireless providers. And they can turn that out immediately.

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.

By most accounts, internet networks are holding up just fine in the face of increased usage due to the impact of the coronavirus, but that could change over the coming weeks. According to research by Nokia Deepfield that started the week of March 9, networks have seen an increase of 20% to 40% during peak usage in impacted regions. As the coronavirus has stretched across the globe, networks have seen increased usage due to total lock downs of citizens in some countries, more employees working from home and increased gaming and streaming by kids home from school.

Millions of people are working from home, children are attending school remotely, and they've all turned to their home broadband connections to stay connected. So far networks in the US and the world have been holding up even as usage spikes. But will it continue? "To be honest, I think we just don't know the answer," said Jon Sallet, a senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and a former general counsel at the Federal Communications Commission.

In this disorienting and terrifying moment in American history, there's one sliver of good news: The internet seems to be working. Communications networks are surviving an explosion of videoconferencing, distance learning and shelter-in-place streaming. That makes Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai very happy. He said his agency has been working with the White House, other federal agencies and private industry to plot out a strategy for keeping Americans connected during this crisis.

Netflix says it will lower the quality of its video streams in Europe in an effort to preserve bandwidth for more essential online activities. But early data shows that most US broadband providers, and many elsewhere, are standing up to the surge in internet traffic generated by the many people stuck at home amid the Covid-19 pandemic. At least for now. 

The US internet won’t get overloaded by spikes in traffic from the millions of Americans now working from home to discourage the spread of the new coronavirus, experts say. But connections could stumble for many if too many family members try to videoconference at the same time. The core of the US network is more than capable of handling the virus-related surge in demand because it has evolved to be able to easily handle bandwidth-greedy Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services.

As millions of people across the US shift to working and learning from home this week to limit the spread of the coronavirus, they will test internet networks with one of the biggest mass behavior changes that the nation has experienced. That is set to strain the internet’s underlying infrastructure, with the burden likely to be particularly felt in two areas: the home networks that people have set up in their residences, and the home internet services from Comcast, Charter and Verizon that those home networks rely on.