(UPDATED)
# 3898
This is something my good buddy, and fellow blogger, Scott McPherson has written about several times:
Whether the Internet will handle the load if millions of people are stuck at home during a pandemic.
Scott is the CIO of the Florida House of Representatives, and eminently qualified to opine on this issue. But more on that in a bit.
First, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) has just published a study, entitled:
GAO-10-8 October 26, 2009
Highlights Page (PDF)
Full Report (PDF, 77 pages)
Recommendations (HTML)
I’ve reproduced excerpts from the summary below.
Summary
Concerns exist that a more severe pandemic outbreak than 2009's could cause large numbers of people staying home to increase their Internet use and overwhelm Internet providers' network capacities. Such network congestion could prevent staff from broker-dealers and other securities market participants from teleworking during a pandemic.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for ensuring that critical telecommunications infrastructure is protected. GAO was asked to examine a pandemic's impact on Internet congestion and what actions can be and are being taken to address it, the adequacy of securities market organizations' pandemic plans, and the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) oversight of these efforts. GAO reviewed relevant studies, regulatory guidance and examinations, interviewed telecommunications providers and financial market participants, and analyzed pandemic plans for seven critical market organizations.
Increased demand during a severe pandemic could exceed the capacities of Internet providers' access networks for residential users and interfere with teleworkers in the securities market and other sectors, according to a DHS study and providers.
For those wishing a 1 page summary, download the Highlights Page (PDF).
For those who want to learn more, but are not masochistic enough to try to wade through 77 pages of a GAO report, you might consider reading Scott McPherson’s excellent 5-Part series on why Telecommuting Will Probably Fail In A Pandemic.
Why telecommuting will probably fail in a pandemic, Vol. 1
Why telecommuting will probably fail in a pandemic, Vol. 2
The ampersand that ate San Francisco; or, Why telecommuting will probably fail during a pandemic, Vol. 3
Why telecommuting will probably fail in a pandemic, Vol. 4
Why telecommuting will probably fail in a pandemic, Vol. 5
UPDATE: No sooner did I post this blog when I discovered that Scott has written Vol. 6 to this series. I fear the only way to stop him will be for his predictions about the net to come to pass.
But I digress . . . read it while you can:
Why telecommuting will probably fail in a pandemic, Vol. 6: the GAO weighs in
