Why Your Internet is Slow During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Do you know about internet tiers?

Most people likely don’t – it’s a piece of arcane knowledge that most people don’t really look into, unless they’re already in a related field. With the COVID-19 pandemic sending nearly everyone home to self-isolate, however, people are becoming aware of internet tiers, even if they’re not necessarily aware of the term. How is this possible, you ask?

It’s because of your current internet speed.

Logicbase Interactive has this quick rundown on the matter for you.

INTERNET TIERS, AND HOW THEY AFFECT YOU

The internet is structured based on infrastructure hierarchy, generally determined by the internet service providers (ISP’s) land area coverage. Presently, there are three tiers: Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3.

For example, in the United States, ISPs like Verizon and AT&T are considered Tier-1, because they have infrastructures running across states; they provide internet service on a national level, and their infrastructure handles the bulk of internet traffic in the states they’re connected to. Tier-2 ISPs handle regional traffic, usually by connecting to Tier-1 ISPs as a subsidized provider, or providing infrastructure on a smaller scale compared to Tier-1. Finally, Tier-3 ISPs, also known as “the last mile” providers, provide direct lines of connectivity from your home to a larger network; Comcast and Spectrum are US examples of Tier-3 providers.

What’s the difference?

DON’T BLAME THE CABLE GUY

In essence, it’s infrastructure stability. Verizon has money to invest in a strong interstate network, as they’re a national level provider; people who connect through Verizon’s internet services can provide over 15Mbps connection speeds for businesses especially because they have a setup that can handle the traffic.

Regional and last-mile providers, on the other hand, do not have infrastructures at the same scale as Tier-1 ISPs. They’re usually branched off from Tier-1 ISPs, thereby “borrowing” speeds from Tier-1 ISPs, or their infrastructure is on a much smaller – and thus, slower – scale. Tier-3 ISPs like Comcast, especially, create a bottleneck for internet speeds, in part to forcibly slow down connections to a speed its infrastructure can handle.

Tier-3 ISPs, especially, depend on cable connections to deliver internet service – and those cables they’re using have been weakened over the years. If you’re having trouble uploading videos or connecting to a video chat client like Skype, chances are it’s because your ISP’s cables can only handle so much information being carried out.

LATENCY AND LATENESS

Another factor that affects internet connectivity is latency. Latency is somewhat connected to the internet tier system, if only because it’s the effect of such a system being established in the first place.

Ideally, if we were to connect to the internet, we would be connecting directly from a Tier-1 ISP – get right to the source, as it were. However, this isn’t possible, because Tier-1 ISPs would need to invest in building new networks into smaller communities; it may be more efficient to subsidize internet services to a local provider, who will have already set up their own infrastructure.

When this happens, data travels through more routers, causing data packets to back up and slow down, which causes latency. Think of it like traffic; the more exits you have to stop at, the slower your drive will be, as you can’t just speed through those exits without making other vehicles come to a stop. In the case of internet speed, a lagging video is a sign of high latency – you’re connecting to the internet, but your data is having trouble squeezing through.

The best solution to latency in the meantime is, hilariously, an old trick from the dial-up days. Just as internet users would ask family users not to use their home phone to avoid interrupting the internet connection, it’s advised to limit how many users are connected to your internet at any given time to avoid latency issues.

This means asking family members not to stream bandwidth-heavy platforms like Netflix or Twitch. Video call apps like FaceTime can also slow down your internet considerably, especially if everyone in your household is connected to the internet in some capacity. More connections lead to heavier congestion, and to higher latency.

IN SUMMARY

The internet will be slow for the foreseeable future – but there’s no reason to worry about it just yet. The pandemic has created a unique situation where demand for reliable internet speeds is high, but the ISP’s ability to rectify the situation is limited. Give things a few weeks, and internet connectivity and stability will stabilize.

In the meantime, ask family members to limit their internet usage during work hours, if you’re working from home, or set up a schedule for using bandwidth-heavy platforms so everyone can get equal enjoyment out of the internet.

For now, the internet will continue to chug along at a slower pace so everyone can stay connected.