Wireless internet routers enabled us to free ourselves from ethernet and coax cables long ago. But as our need for more internet bandwidth has grown with each new convenience, our home networks have gotten more congested.

When you add up all the mobile phones, tablets and laptops floating around your home, then consider the cord-cutting streaming TV services and smart home IoT devices, it’s not hard to see why. Currently in the U.S., there are an average of 22 networked, or smart, devices in every household.

Remember the excitement you felt when you hooked up your first WiFi router? The freedom of being able to move around your home while still connected to the internet sure was nice, even with that baller 56k modem.

You’ve moved on, though. DSL happened, then cable internet came onto the scene. Now you’re hearing about Gigabit fiber internet, and you can’t believe how fast it is—only, there’s something that could hold you back from REALLY experiencing the velocity of 1,000 Mbps.

"Ten minutes … "

This is the sound of school resuming at households around Mississippi this week as students return to the classroom — the virtual classroom, that is. Thousands of students across the state are joining their classmates virtually, relying on their home internet connection like never before.

Being a parent isn’t for the weak willed. Between riding the emotional rollercoaster of the tween and teen years and getting youngsters to baseball and softball practice, you hope that your home is a safe space for them to just be kids.

But that’s where the real challenge begins. The schoolyard drama, bullying and worse can follow them home on the internet. “In their bedroom” and “totally safe” aren’t the same thing anymore.