Internet seem slower than normal? Here’s what providers are doing to meet increased demand

ORLANDO, Fla. — Your home Wi-Fi is used to operating with one or maybe two people surfing the internet. Now it’s trying to keep up with video conference calls and video downloads, and there are now three, four or five people trying to do that all at once.

Grace Arce is juggling the schoolwork for her two children and her own work. And both rely on a strong Wi-Fi connection through their provider, AT&T.

She said something went wrong last week and they could see the connection slowing down drastically.

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Channel 9 investigative reporter Daralene Jones reached out to AT&T and a representative said the company’s core network traffic just for Wednesday was up 18% across the country, compared with the same time last month.

Spectrum reported its traffic is up 20%. Verizon reported even higher numbers, up about 24%. For Viasat, its reported number is only a 10% increase in traffic but there are many customers slamming the company with complaints on social media complaining about slow speeds.

“We’re using business technology in our homes. We’re using educational level technology in our homes. That’s going to put a greater demand. It’s going to take a while for service providers to catch up,” said Brian Applegate, with Applegate Information Services.

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In Central Florida, the area of Clarcona-Ocoee Road and Apopka Vineland, or near the 32818 ZIP code, right now has the fastest broadband speeds. The slowest area is near Baldwin Park, of the 32814 ZIP code area.

The coronavirus pandemic will likely force some providers to speed up infrastructure projects because suddenly the demand is now and it hit the networks over days, not years.

“They can't just turn things up for everybody. It depends on the hardware, the infrastructure,” Applegate said.

Another added stress on these systems are apps like Netflix and YouTube. So some say it may help to turn them off and read a book.

The Federal Communications Commission has allowed providers to increase capacities, and companies responding to Channel 9’s questions said they haven’t maxed out.

One thing experts said you can do to improve performance is to reboot your router and computer every day.

Video: Internet providers cope with spike in usage as work, schools moves home Internet providers say they are seeing a dramatic jump in usage as the coronavirus pandemic forces many to work or learn on their home computers, but they?re designed for maximum capacity or to shift the weight during peak times.

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