The Pandemic Puts the Internet’s Resiliency – and Fragility – On Display

As you probably know by now, the internet has held up well during the coronavirus pandemic. A few snags aside, overall, this has been one of the very few positive stories to emerge during the crisis. Outside some expected growing pains, most likely caused by the system tweaks network operators have been making to accommodate new traffic patterns, the internet as a whole has so far hummed through the crisis without major meltdowns. But the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the urgency of providing broadband access to communities that don’t have it. We can celebrate schools’ pivot to e-learning, but there are vast numbers of students, particularly in rural and tribal areas, that simply don’t have that option. Members of their households can’t work or get seen by a doctor remotely. And, while the internet has shown remarkable resilience so far, a recent incident should serve as a reminder that this “best-effort” network of networks is by its nature fragile.