By Angus Loten Close Angus Loten Sept. 17, 2020 1:39 pm ET Broadband speeds in the U.S. have ticked up on average since March, easing fears of network disruptions as businesses widened the use of videoconferencing and other data-heavy tools during the pandemic, according to a report.
“In our business we have not seen a noticeable change,” Mr. Scorza said. His company, the services arm of Ahold Delhaize NV’s U.S. division, has roughly 2,700 office workers who worked from twin headquarters in North Carolina and Maine before the pandemic. “We welcome any efforts made to increase broadband speeds,” he added.
Jason Blackwell, a research director at technology research firm International Data Corp., said as bandwidth consumption increased throughout the crisis, many internet service providers raised bandwidth caps to meet higher demand. “Service providers were quick to respond” by making necessary adjustments, Mr. Blackwell said.
Efforts to better serve remote areas aren’t new. According to the FCC’s latest estimates, the number of Americans lacking high-speed broadband declined by more than 14% in 2018 from 2017. While most internet service providers were equipped to handle sharp upturns in traffic brought on by the pandemic, many home networks were far less prepared, said Bill McFarland, chief technology officer at smart-home services provider Plume Design Inc.