Teleworkers could jam Internet

Companies are moving ahead with plans for workers to telecommute in the event of a flu pandemic. But until now, no one really took into account the possibility of a traffic jam when thousands and thousands of workers surge onto the Internet at the same time in the event of a pandemic.

The Government Accountability Office reported this week that if the swine flu outbreak reaches a pandemic, a surge in telecommuting could bog down local networks. And if that happens, it's unclear what kind of response the federal government would have in order to clear the runways, the GAO said.

It's also unclear what kind of response a company may have that counted on telecommuting to keep its business running and now is forced to look for other resources to carry on business.

The Department of Homeland Security, in charge of communications networks during national emergencies, doesn't have a plan yet to deal with overloaded Internet networks.

Network operators could add bandwidth capacity and lay down private lines for essential workers, but that is expensive and would take too long. An Internet service provider could decide to slow all connections in a certain neighborhood, but then that network operator would be violating customer agreements, according to the GAO.

What's a company to do? Sit tight and hope the predictions don't come true.

For more on potential Internet problems in a pandemic:
- see this Washington Post article

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