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Updated: April 9, 2020

In new work-from-home reality, internet providers see higher demand

Photo | Contributed A GoNetspeed crew working in Pennsylvania, where the company launched its first broadband service offerings. Connecticut is its second target.
By Matt Pilon

With so many Connecticut residents staying and working in their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, internet providers are staying plenty busy.

Fiber internet upstart GoNetspeed, which has been building out its network in Connecticut for the past several years, has seen a recent increase in new requests for installations as well as from existing customers wanting to switch to higher speeds. 

While some are wary of having a technician enter their homes to install service, and have postponed installations, most haven’t, according to Thomas Perrone, chief operating officer of the Rochester-based company. 

“If anything, it’s been picking up,” Perrone said Wednesday.

While GoNetspeed’s Rochester headquarters personnel are working from home, it’s mostly business as usual for its field technicians, who have been wearing gloves and masks and taking other precautions when they enter residences, he said.

Perrone said the ongoing pandemic also hasn’t affected GoNetspeed’s 2020 network expansion plans, which include Newington and Wethersfield.

“We’re right on track,” he said.

Many people use the internet regularly, but the coronavirus outbreak has made the service even more vital for work, education and entertainment.

“Obviously folks are completely dependent on having a reliable and robust internet service that can handle scale,” said Perrone, who believes more companies may be open to work-from-home arrangements even after COVID-19 is brought to heel.

GoNetspeed has been trying to take business away from major incumbent providers in Connecticut based on price and lack of contracts. Its gigabit-speed service is $90 per month for example.

Incumbent providers are also seeing spikes in demand of late.

Demand for downstream service in Connecticut grew 28.7% between March 1 and April 6, while upstream demand spiked 40.5%, according to a new dashboard produced by Washington, D.C.-based NCTA - The Internet & Television Association.

NCTA’s data for Connecticut comes from Charter, Comcast and Cox, which report that their networks are handling the increased demand well overall. During the peak usage time over the last week, only 0.3% of those providers’ networks saw an impact on performance that could have affected customer experience.

Across North America, internet download speeds have dipped over the past month, though not significantly, according to internet speed website Ookla.

In response to COVID-19, service providers have issued assurances that their networks are built for peak usage scenarios and can handle the recent increases in demand. Many of the companies have increased available speeds, promised not to disconnect customers for nonpayment, and offered free and discounted internet service to low-income households.

Many large providers have offered several months of free internet service to low-income households or other customers and have pledged not to shut off service due to nonpayment during the crisis.

Xfinity has made its WiFi hotspots, located in businesses and outdoor locations, free across the country, including for non-customers.

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