America First

The China Virus freak out is forcing a fundamental transformation of many of the world’s societies.

A billion-plus people who would be going to work and church, restaurants and bars - are forced by governments to stay home.

So everything tactile - has become digital.

Work has become telework.

Church congregations have become mass teleconferences.

I have friends who would normally go out as a gaggle on weekend evenings - staying in as a gaggle on weekend evenings. Digitally connecting and drinking together - separately.

And of course we are streaming infini-bytes-of-data-worth of movies and TV shows - to while away the government freak out hours.

All of this is made possible - by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The Comcasts, AT&Ts, Verizons and Charters of the world.

Here in the US, ISPs have spent the last quarter-century spending more than a trillion dollars building our Internet infrastructure.

The China Virus $20 Trillion Question?

Can U.S. Internet Infrastructure Handle Increased Demand?

Is the Internet Resilient Enough to Withstand Coronavirus?

So We’re Working From Home. Can the Internet Handle It?

Can the Internet Handle the Strain of Everyone Working from Home? Or Will It Buckle Under Pressure?

Last week I wrote that I thought US ISPs - are eminently up to the task….

Coronavirus: Nation’s Internet Providers Have Made #SelfDistancing Telework a Piece of Cake

Ok, please keep in mind:

NOTHING consumes Internet capacity - like video.

Report: Netflix and YouTube Account for Half of Internet's Traffic

And there has been an explosion of other streaming services - Amazon Plus, Disney+, Hulu, Roku, Ad Nauseum,…. And a panoply of applications - that throw infini-bytes of additional video online.

All of this is made possible - by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The Comcasts, AT&Ts, Verizons and Charters of the world.

Meanwhile, of course, the US Left - has an America Last approach to all things.

So of course they have spent the last quarter-century - insisting nigh everyone else on the planet’s Internet service is better than ours.

Thirteen Ways Other Countries Are Leaving the US in the Dust

We just stink, don’t we?:

“The US may have ‘invented the internet,’ but it lags behind several other countries when it comes to internet speed today.

“According to Akamai, an American content-delivery system, the US had just the 10th-highest average internet speed in the world in 2017.

“The fastest internet speeds can be found in Western Europe.…”

Never mind the US land mass is orders-of-magnitude larger than each and every Western European country - which makes connecting it all orders-of-magnitude more difficult.

Never mind the US population is orders-of-magnitude larger than each and every Western European country - which makes connecting all of them orders-of-magnitude more difficult.

Except…the China Virus Test is here.

And the allegedly-awful, allegedly-laggard US Internet - is handling it way better than allegedly way better Western Europe.

Again, please remember:

NOTHING consumes Internet capacity - like video….

YouTube, Netflix Reduce Stream Quality to Ease Strain on Internet in Europe:

“Netflix and YouTube have announced that they would be reducing their quality of streaming in Europe to lessen the strain on the continent's internet capabilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The moves comes after European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton, who oversees the EU internal market, implored streaming services to switch all streams to standard definition in a Wednesday tweet.

“‘To beat #COVID19, we #StayAtHome,’ Breton tweeted. ‘Teleworking & streaming help a lot but infrastructures might be in strain. To secure Internet access for all, let’s #SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary.’”

“YouTube said on Friday that it would be switching to standard definition in Europe for the next 30 days.

“‘We will continue working with member state governments and network operators to minimize stress on the system, while also delivering a good user experience,’ YouTube said in a statement to Bloomberg.

“Netflix released a similar statement on Thursday.

“‘We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by 25 percent while also ensuring a good quality service for our members,’ the company said.”

Of course High Definition (HD) Internet video could be considered a luxury at any time - and certainly during the China Virus freak out.

But they’re being forced to switch to SD - in lauded Europe.

Not here - in the allegedly-laggard US.

Because Europe’s Internet can’t handle the strain.

But the US’s can.

Despite the US’s orders-of-magnitude larger land mass.

Despite the US’s orders-of-magnitude larger population.

Please keep this in mind - when next you hear how much worse our Internet services are.

Which you undoubtedly, inexorably will.

This first appeared in Red State.