Jacy Marmaduke|Fort Collins Coloradoan
Perry Lewis isn't usually much of a bookworm, but he read two of them in two days last weekend.
His internet and cable were out of commission from Thursday to Sunday, part of an outage that affected between 500 and 1,000 people near Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area in Fort Collins. He and his neighbors are some of the manyresidents who've reported lagging or intermittent internet since the coronavirus outbreak has made screens our primary connection to the outside world.
"I'm not a TV addict, but I wanted to keep up with the news," he said. "Without internet or TV, it's harder to knowwhat’s going on with the virus. We were out in the cold for a couple of days."
Downdetector.com, which creates a live map of internet outages based on citizen reports, has shown connectivity problems in Comcast's and CenturyLink’s Fort Collins networks off and on throughout the last week.
Both Comcast and CenturyLink said their networks are built to handle increased peak traffic and shifts in internet use. But increases in traffic can affect internet speed and connection in some neighborhoods, Comcast representatives said.
EDUCATION: PSD launches mobile hot spots for internet access
Connexion, Fort Collins' municipal broadband utility, hasn't experienced any performance issues amid the pandemic, spokesperson Erin Shanley said. She attributed the lack of issues to Connexion's "extremely robust" 10-gigabit fiber-optic network.
Higher-than-normal internet usage has the potential of overloading a network’s capacity, which can cause connectivity problems. Comcast representatives said they were already working to add capacity to their network where it was needed before the pandemic and have continued to do that.
Engineers can work locally to shift traffic to alternate routes to prevent long-term service issues, said Leslie Oliver, a Comcast’s media and external communications director for the Mountain West region.
“Sometimes, to add capacity to handle increased usage, more customers (and) more devices, we may need to conduct localized construction in a neighborhoods,” Oliver said. “We try to do this in a way to minimize impacts to customers as much as possible, for as short of a time as possible in order to keep people connected with the speed and reliability they expect.”
GETTING OUT: With mixed messages about recreating, residents flocking to trails
Comparing March 1 to March 30, Comcast reports a 32% increase in peak traffic nationwide and a 24% increase in mobile data use over WiFi for Xfinity Mobile users. The peak time has changed, too, from 9 p.m. to between 7 and 8 p.m. for downstream traffic. The upstream traffic peak moved from 9 p.m. to between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in most cities.
Upstream traffic is data heading “upstream” from your network — sending emails, storing files online, playing online games and uploading photos to social media, for example. Downstream traffic is data heading into your network — downloading files, browsing the web and streaming music and videos.
The shift in peak time appears to reflect people increasingly working from home during the day and staying inside (and probably reading online news and watching Netflix) at night.
Local: Why Fort Collins Connexion has been so quiet onmunicipal broadband buildout
If you run a speed test on your internet, you’ll see your downstream connection is probably much faster than your upstream one. That’s because downstream uses, like streaming videos, take up more bandwidth than upstream ones.
Sowhat can you do about an outage or sluggish connection?
First, make sure it’s not a problem on your end. Heavy downstream use can eat up your bandwidth and slow down the connection for everybody in your home. So if your internet starts acting up while one family member is binging The Office, another is playing League of Legends and a third is video-chatting with their friends — that might be on you.
Make sure your router is in a good spot, high up off the ground and not near a microwave or blocked by books or other clutter. You might get a stronger connection by plugging your device directly into your router using an ethernet cord. And both CenturyLink and Comcast offer WiFi extenders that can improve your connection in some cases.
Comcast and CenturyLink have more tips for improving your connection on their websites.
Comcast offers an outage map for customers that you can look at to see outages in your area. You can sign up for a text notification when the outage is repaired. You can also call customer service to try to get more information about an outage or service issue.
Comcast has also made its Xfinity WiFi hotspots available for everyone. If you’re near a hotspot, it should show up in your list of available networks. Non-Xfinity customers can get a one-hour pass for free; Xfinity customers have free access.
Editor's note:As the coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve, we don’t want you to panic. In fact, quite the opposite. That’s why the Coloradoan is committed to providing you with accurate, up-to-date information so you can make informed decisions on issues affecting you and the people you love. As such, this story, and many others, are being provided free for all to read.Help us continue this important work by subscribing to the Coloradoan.
Jacy Marmaduke covers government accountability for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @jacymarmaduke. Support stories like this one bypurchasing a digital subscription to the Coloradoan.
