U.S. Internet and Telecom Networks Showing Strength with COVID-19

Among COVID-19’s many jolts to our daily lives is a sudden reorganizing of how we connect with each other. The virus may have paused little league games and happy hours, but our need to connect hasn’t stopped — whether for our jobs, our kids’ education, or telehealth.

All of these changes have given the world’s communications networks an impromptu stress test. Data demand has surged and shifted. “Peak hour” — the busiest period of the day on a network — now hits at different times and extends for longer durations.

Signs of stress have shown up in other parts of the world. European regulators directed Netflix to reduce its video quality by 25% to ease the strain on the continent’s networks. Australia did the same for its most popular streaming services. Americans have begun asking: Do our networks have the capacity to meet this surge in demand?

Here’s the bottom line. America’s Internet infrastructure is strong and resilient. We track a range of network performance data from a diverse set of sources — from Internet providers themselves to third-party traffic monitors. The data show that the recent surges in Internet traffic are well within the capacity of U.S. networks.

The strong performance we’ve seen in the U.S. is no accident. Over the past few years, we have created a regulatory environment that enabled Internet providers to invest heavily in their networks — outpacing investments in other countries — and to build new Internet infrastructure at a record-breaking pace.

Over the last two weeks, the FCC has been in constant contact with network operators and infrastructure builders to keep ahead of any potential problems. We have anticipated increased demand by allowing wireless providers access to more spectrum on a temporary basis. FCC Chairman Pai also increased funding for healthcare providers for Internet connections, and he obtained commitments from Internet providers to help Americans stay connected through financial difficulty. Internet providers have also expanded their own efforts to keep low-income Americans and students connected.

A review of network loads and performance provides insights into how Americans’ lives have shifted and how our connections are holding up.

Traffic Surges and Shifts

No surprise: data traffic is up, particularly on wireline networks, which also have greater capacity than mobile wireless networks.

• Cloudflare reports that U.S. traffic is up 18% since January 1. “That’s not unlike what you might see during the Super Bowl, except that now traffic is staying sky high, day after day.”
• Comscore confirms an average 18% increase of in-home traffic year-over-year.
• OpenVault predicts monthly data use per U.S. subscriber will top 400 GB by April — a 27% increase from pre-pandemic usage.
• Web traffic on Verizon’s network is up 22%.
• AT&T’s core network traffic similarly was up 21% month-over-month.
• USTelecom surveyed its five largest wireline members, and they report a median increase of 25%.

Traffic has not increased as much on mobile wireless networks:

• CTIA reports that the top five wireless providers in the country are seeing increases between 0.7% and 9.2%

• This likely stems from more Americans staying home and staying put as part of the nation’s response to COVID-19. Indeed, Verizon reports 27% fewer mobile hand offs, which are times when a data session is handed off from one cell site to another, further confirming that Americans are moving around less today than normal.

This traffic surge has also shifted from the typical times and places.

• Traffic is down 10% in office areas and down 5% on campuses, but it is up 20% in residential areas.
• Our check-ins with wireless carriers this week confirm a shift of traffic away from urban cores out to the suburbs and rural areas.
• The “peak hour” has grown and shifted from evenings (ordinarily around 9:00 PM and driven by streaming) to daytime. OpenVault, for instance, reports a 17% increase in 6 PM-11 PM traffic eclipsed by a 41% surge in 9 AM-5 PM traffic. The workday now has a higher data demand than evenings.

This helpful chart from a Wall Street Journal article shows how web usage is shifting — it is picking up during the day more than it is increasing over typical peak usage levels:

Americans Use Networks Differently

Americans are using their networks differently in the pandemic. While the uptick in streaming and work collaboration software that we’re seeing could be expected, the increase in voice minutes is perhaps a bit more surprising. (In fact, we’re seeing voice calls at levels that outpace the volume normally reserved for Mother’s Day — reminder, call your mother!).

Calls may be replacing office drop-ins, or maybe the call rebound is because it’s just nice to hear another person’s voice after so much time in isolation.

Comscore measured the amount of data key devices and applications are using compared to a year ago. The company observed strong month-over-month shifts towards using smart speakers and phones.

See the table and related information at Comscore.

• The wireless industry experienced an increase of voice usage between 7% and 24%, outpacing the increase in data usage
• AT&T saw a 51% increase in consumer home voice calling
• Verizon reported a 47% increase in the use of collaboration tools, such as conference calling applications, and a 52% increase in VPNs

Networks Perform Well under Pressure

So far, our networks are delivering under this new pressure.

BroadbandNow compared the average download speeds of the 200 largest metro areas to the speeds those areas had experienced pre-pandemic. Three-quarters of the metro areas experienced no significant slowdown in available speeds (defined as speeds within 10 percent of the normal range).

In the handful of areas flagged by their metrics, BroadbandNow reports that speeds are still remaining high enough to support all common online applications. They note, too, that “Encouragingly, many of the areas hit hardest by the spread of the coronavirus are holding up to increased network demand. Cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, and San Francisco have all experienced little or no disruption.”

KASPR Datahaus, a group based in Australia, relies on latency instead of download speeds to test the relative health of networks worldwide. In a virtual meeting we had with their team on Wednesday, they explained that U.S. networks are showing far fewer signs of “Internet pressure” or higher latency than other parts of the world that have been hit hard by COVID-19.

Continuing the Effort for Reliable Networks

U.S. networks are showing strength and resiliency in the face of surging demand. While we may not have seen peak, post-coronavirus demand yet — as Americans are continuing to move more of their lives online — operators are continuing to adjust and optimize their networks to these new traffic patterns. The relative strength of our networks gives Americans more options to work and learn from home, to get care remotely, and to keep in touch with family during this stressful period. The networks’ reliability owes to massive investment and engineering — and making sure that we have the policies in place to foster that private sector activity.

The FCC will stay vigilant in monitoring our communications networks and deploying resources as any needs arise through the pandemic.

As a country, we are in uncharted territory with COVID-19 and the disruption it is causing in the lives of so many Americans. I am confident that we will emerge from this as a stronger and more prosperous nation than ever before. It will take time. In the meanwhile, our Internet infrastructure will play a key role in this country’s comeback.