Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai unveiled a new initiative Friday to help ensure that everyone across the nation has reliable broadband and telephone connectivity during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Keep America Connected Pledge asks U.S. telephone and broadband service providers to agree that, for the next 60 days, they will open Wi-Fi hotspots to all Americans who need them, not terminate any services to residential or small business customers who can’t pay their bills due to complications from the pandemic, and also waive any late fees those customers might incur due to economic disruptions prompted by the coronavirus.
Pai said many of the nation’s top broadband and telecom companies have already agreed to the pledge, including AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast, Cox Communications, Google Fiber, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and more.
“I don’t want any American consumers experiencing hardships because of the pandemic to lose connectivity,” the chairman said in a statement.
The measure comes at the end of a week that saw major sports, concerts and events cancellations to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, and at a time when government agencies, companies and schools are instructing many Americans to begin working remotely. These “social distancing” moves are a necessary response to help combat and contain COVID-19—which has already resulted in more than 1,200 test ..
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