It could prove that the predicted spread of the Swine Flu, or H1N1 virus, could bring the Internet to its knees as well as the populace of the world.

According to The Wall Street Journal (registration required), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning that as much as 50 percent of the United States population could be staying home if the H1N1 infections reach the pandemic levels they fear.  While businesses are making plans for workers to telecommute if this happens, people are beginning to wonder what may happen to the Internet if both workers and children are trying to access the Internet at the same time.

During the recent outbreak of the virus in the New York City area, over 60 schools closed, leaving 800,000 students home during the day.  While the Internet stayed up, it did not have the added factor of the parents also being home and trying to telecommute.  According to a recent study by Cisco, the Internet is at nearly 50 percent capacity from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. with business traffic, and then from 4 P.M. to 11 P.M. traffic surges past 50 percent, but the traffic shifts to video games and other forms of entertainment.

In short, 50 percent plus over 50 percent equals … well, you can see that comes to over 100 percent.

The Department of Homeland Security actually did a study on the effects of a pandemic on communications, and it did find that most people would experience brown outs or complete loss of Internet connectivity if something like this would happen.

It is being suggested that people attempt to limit their Internet connectivity during a time like this to help keep the Internet running smoothly, but the report suggested that 75 percent of homes would have to voluntarily comply for it to have any real impact.  There has been some suggestion that the government should enact legislation to allow for certain services be cut off to help maintain the health of the Internet in such a situation, but that is meeting with mixed reactions.

Considering that every Cyber Monday, the Internet shopping version of Black Friday, the Internet slows to a crawl, the odds of people voluntarily staying off of the Internet seems rather unlikely.  In other words: if the Swine Flu does go pandemic, expect the Internet to move at the pace of a snail.