2020: A Remarkable Year for Wi-Fi
World Wi-Fi Day is this Saturday, and if there was ever a year when we should celebrate Wi-Fi, it would be 2020. Even prior to the current public health crisis, Wi-Fi was part of our routine and played a growing role not only at home and at the office, but in factories, hospitals, retail stores, and transportation hubs across the country. In fact, more than half of U.S. internet traffic transits a Wi-Fi network, and that share is predicted to grow. During the pandemic, Wi-Fi has become even more important as Americans around the country worked, learned, shopped for essentials, and accessed
A Common Sense Fix to Speed Broadband Deployment to Unserved Communities
The benefits of having a reliable high-speed broadband connection have never been as apparent as they are now during the COVID-19 pandemic. With millions of Americans spending more time at home as we try to limit the spread of the virus, broadband is enabling us to continue our daily lives—from doing our jobs, studying at home, connecting with a doctor, streaming our favorite shows, to staying in touch with friends and family. Over the past two decades, broadband providers have invested nearly $2 trillion in network infrastructure to bring Americans some of the fastest and most widely deployed
How Cable TV Networks Are Helping Kids Get Through the Pandemic
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, young people went from seeing their friends, classmates, and teachers on a daily basis to quarantining with their parents and guardians. These changes have been particularly challenging for kids, many of whom relied on the adults in their life to help make sense of the situation. Early on, cable TV networks recognized that families would need help during these unprecedented times and started working to support them. From specials to town halls to virtual events, producers and showrunners put their heads together behind the scenes to provide creative
GCI Tackles COVID-19 Challenges to Keep Rural Alaska Connected
NCTA enters its 11th week of tracking network performance nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, and broadband networks continue to provide the vital connections that millions of Americans need to learn and work from home. From large cities to rural villages, in many cases fast and robust internet has allowed for businesses to proceed remotely and for distance learning to take place. But in some areas of the country, just keeping the internet running is a huge undertaking under normal circumstances. Tack on a global health crisis, and the obstacles to establishing and maintaining
The New Customer Experience Amid COVID-19
As Americans have learned to adapt to their new normal during the ongoing pandemic, cable operators have offered alternative ways to meet their customers' needs and demands. Last month, a Midco field technician on the frontlines shared his experience of going into people's homes since the onset of COVID-19, but only when it was absolutely necessary. Midco has a prevention team in place that guides its employees through a series of precautions to take when interacting with customers, and to ensure that all parties are comfortable with any work being done inside the home. But in many situations
Downstream Traffic Still Dominates Our Lives
With so much of daily life changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, one important aspect about internet traffic has remained largely the same—downstream is still the dominant path that data is traveling. While a greater reliance on applications like home video conferencing has focused more attention on the growth in upstream traffic, our time spent at home has resulted in significant dramatic increases in the delivery of video streaming traffic and general data demands, as people turn to the internet with increasing frequency as a source of information and entertainment. People Consuming
The Fast-Paced Life of a GCI Technician During COVID-19
NCTA continues to report weekly on network performance throughout the pandemic as a large portion of people across the country are still working from home and students close out their school years online. Broadband networks remain strong and steady, but it is cable's frontline technicians who are out in the field partaking in all kinds of ventures to make sure that households and businesses are experiencing the speeds and capacity they need. This week, we'd like to shine a spotlight on another unsung hero out in Anchorage, Alaska, who is doing all of that while also giving those Alaskans
Discovery Channel Demonstrates Adaptability in the Face of COVID-19
With people hunkered down at home over the past two months, audiences have been hungrier than ever for news and entertainment. As a result, cable TV networks have had the responsibility of adapting their programming lineups and creating new content in light of recent events. From producing on the fly to having talent and staff working from their homes, it is an extraordinary feat to keep viewers informed, up to date, and entertained as the pandemic surges on. We recently caught up with Discovery Channel Senior Vice President of Programming, Donna D'Alessandro, to find out how the network has
How Mediacom and Des Moines Public Schools Are Closing the Opportunity Gap
As the school year starts to draw to a close, students and teachers are preparing for the possibility that distance education is here to stay for the foreseeable future. This comes on the heels of the rapid transition to online learning for millions of students around the country. To make sure those students don’t fall behind, America’s broadband leaders have extended their offerings to low-income students through the Keep Americans Connected Pledge, as well as through community programs, including public–private partnerships such as the one between Mediacom and Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS
Telehealth is Gaining Prominence in Fight Against COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many things to a halt, but the internet is not one of them. In fact, America's robust cable broadband networks, which NCTA has been tracking weekly for the past two months, have successfully handled the surge in internet traffic, and have accelerated the demand for remote work, distance learning, and most pertinent to the ongoing crisis—telehealth. Cable operators have long been active in the healthcare world through partnerships with hospitals and clinics to help providers utilize the technology and connectivity needed to offer this alternative form of