ABSTRACT When COVID-19 hit, many people began working, going to school, and living much of their lives from home. The Internet was a gateway to the world. This article uses data from Internet speed tests, consumer complaints, search engine optimization tools, and logs of Internet use from public libraries to understand the effects of the pandemic on Internet use and performance. Despite reports that the Internet handled the surge in traffic well, we find that complaints about Internet speed nearly tripled, and performance was degraded. Downstream data rates changed little, but median upstream data rates at midday dropped by about a third. When discussing Internet performance, people typically focus on downstream. This focus should shift. Internet service providers and policymakers should reduce the asymmetry by changing how infrastructure is designed, how Internet services are advertised, how regulators write transparency rules, and how government defines “broadband” in subsidy programs intended to reduce the digital divide. We also find significant increases in the use of many important categories of online content, including those used for work communications, education, grocery shopping, social media, news, and job searches. This shows the importance of the Internet during the crisis. Many people without Internet at home turned to public Wi-Fi hotspots during the pandemic. We find that this occurred disproportionately in neighborhoods with more students. Future distance learning initiatives should consider the challenges some students face in obtaining Internet access.

中文翻译：

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Covid-19 期间互联网使用和性能的教训

摘要 当 COVID-19 来袭时，许多人开始工作、上学，并且大部分时间都在家里过着。互联网是通往世界的门户。本文使用来自互联网速度测试、消费者投诉、搜索引擎优化工具和公共图书馆互联网使用日志的数据来了解大流行对互联网使用和性能的影响。尽管有报道称互联网很好地处理了激增的流量，但我们发现有关互联网速度的投诉几乎增加了两倍，而且性能下降了。下游数据速率变化不大，但中午的中值上游数据速率下降了约三分之一。在讨论互联网性能时，人们通常关注下游。这个焦点应该转移。互联网服务提供商和政策制定者应通过改变基础设施的设计方式、互联网服务的广告方式、监管机构制定透明度规则的方式以及政府在旨在缩小数字鸿沟的补贴计划中如何定义“宽带”来减少不对称性。我们还发现，许多重要类别的在线内容的使用显着增加，包括用于工作交流、教育、杂货店购物、社交媒体、新闻和求职的内容。这显示了互联网在危机期间的重要性。在大流行期间，许多在家中没有互联网的人转向公共 Wi-Fi 热点。我们发现这种情况不成比例地发生在学生较多的社区。未来的远程学习计划应考虑一些学生在获得互联网接入方面面临的挑战。