ISPs and wireless carriers remove limits to support remote workers
posted Friday Mar 13, 2020 by Scott Ertz
As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues its global spread, normal activities are being canceled. Of those activities, work and school are having the single largest impact on people's daily lives. Whether you are working from home or experiencing online education, your internet connection is going to be an important part of your day. Thankfully, as many private companies have done, internet service providers and wireless carriers are making adjustments to their policies to make life easier for their customers.
Over the past few years, we have seen home and business internet service providers have implemented data caps on their services. Many of these providers, including AT&T and Comcast, have temporarily removed these restrictions for their customers. This will allow people who normally do not work from home, and those who are going to be taking classes online, to have a better and more consistent experience. It will also mean that there will be no additional charges for overages.
There are also some additional changes available for some people across the country. For Comcast subscribers who are on the Essentials plan, their speeds will be increased from 15/2Mbps to 25/3Mbps. This change should also make life a little easier. For people in a Spectrum market who are not currently Spectrum subscribers and have a school-aged child who is moving to online education, there is an option to get free service for the next 2 months.
As for wireless carriers, they are also removing data caps from their cellular plans. Some are waiving overage fees, while others are simply removing the caps altogether. Either way, the end result is the same. In addition, Sprint and T-Mobile will be providing 20GB of hotspot data to anyone who is a hotspot subscriber.
On top of all of these changes, many services, including home internet, wireless, and power, are removing late fees for payment and skipping terminations. Some services even have programs to provide free service for those whose lives are being significantly disrupted, such as losing a job, or an industry in significant decline (live event production, for example). Check with your local utilities and services to see exactly what they are offering.
