Company Opens Xfinity WiFi Network Nationally for Free, Offers Unlimited Data for Free,
Confirms Its Commitment to Connecting Low-Income Families
PHILADELPHIA – March 13, 2020 – On the heels of offering new, low-income Internet Essentials customers two months of free internet and raising the speed of that program’s service to 25/3 Mbps, Comcast today announced additional steps to help ensure people stay connected to the internet as more schools suspend classes and companies encourage employees to work from home due to the Coronavirus. “During this extraordinary time, it is vital that as many Americans as possible stay connected to the internet – for education, work, and personal health reasons,” said Dave Watson, Comcast Cable Chief Executive Officer. “Our employees also live and work in virtually every community we serve, and we all share the same belief that it’s our Company’s responsibility to step up and help out.”
Comcast is taking steps to implement the following new policies for the next 60 days, and other important initiatives:
• Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers – and we are giving all Internet customers Unlimited data for no additional charge. We will not disconnect internet service or charge late fees for customers who can’t pay their bills during this period. Learn more here.
For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots, and then launch a browser.
• Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
• No Disconnects or Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s internet service or assess late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams will be available to offer flexible payment options and can help find other solutions.
• Internet Essentials Free to New Customers: As announced yesterday, it’s even easier for low income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign-up for Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. New customers will receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month.
Additionally, for all new and existing Internet Essentials customers, the speed of the program’s Internet service was increased to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. That increase will go into effect for no additional fee and it will become the new base speed for the program going forward.
• News, Information and Educational Content on X1 and Flex: For those with school-age students at home, we’ve created new educational collections for all grade levels in partnership with Common Sense Media. Just say “education” into your X1 or Flex voice remote. To help keep customers informed, we also have created a collection of the most current news and information on Coronavirus. Just say “Coronavirus” into your X1 or Flex voice remote.
• 24x7 Network Monitoring: Underpinning all of these efforts, Comcast’s technology and engineering teams will continue to work tirelessly to support our network operations. We engineer our network capacity to handle spikes and shifts in usage patterns, and continuously test, monitor and enhance our systems and network to ensure they are ready to support customer usage. Our engineers and technicians staff our network operations centers 24/7 to ensure network performance and reliability. We are monitoring network usage and watching the load on the network both nationally and locally, and to date it is performing well.
For more information and updates from Comcast related to Coronavirus, visit:
http://www.comcastcorporation.com/COVID-19/
APRIL 7 UPDATE
- We are continuing to focus on network reliability and performance. We are seeing an unprecedented shift in network usage, but it’s within the network’s capability and we continue to deliver the speeds and support the capacity our customers need while they are working, learning, and connecting from home. Learn more here.
- Xfinity WiFi hotspots in business and outdoor locations across the country are available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers – and we are giving all Internet customers Unlimited data for no additional charge. We will not disconnect internet service or charge late fees for customers who can’t pay their bills during this period. Learn more here.
- Internet Essentials, the largest and most comprehensive low-cost broadband adoption in the country, will be free for new low-income customers in our footprint for 60 days. We’ve also increased the base speed for the Internet Essentials service to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream for all new and existing customers going forward. Learn more here.
- We’ve created new educational collections for all grade levels in partnership with Common Sense Media, as well as a collection of the most current news and information on Coronavirus on X1 and Flex. Both collections are easy to find by saying “Education” or “Coronavirus” into the X1 or Flex remote. Learn more here and here.
- Universal Pictures will make its movies available in the home on the same day as their global theatrical releases. Titles including The Hunt, The Invisible Man and Emma are now available to rent on most popular on-demand services worldwide. DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour will be available April 10th. Learn more here.
- Coronavirus-themed The More You Know public service announcements are being developed with the Ad Council, CDC and White House that align with the CDC’s latest language. And NBCUniversal created a series of English and Spanish digital videos and social graphics to inform high-risk populations about preventative steps. Telemundo has also produced “Quedate en Casa” (“Stay home”), featuring on-air talent. Learn more here and here.
- NBCUniversal is partnering with distribution partners to make MSNBC and CNBC available to all their video customers, regardless of the packages to which they subscribe. NBC and Telemundo owned stations are streaming local newscasts as well as coronavirus-related press conferences. And NBC News Now will feature programming drawing upon NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, free to viewers. Learn more here.
We’re reaching out to thousands of our colleagues and partners across the country to help us spread the word to those who can benefit from these efforts. Important information and updates can be found here.
About Comcast
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest
high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to
residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations,
television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content
through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential highspeed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports
and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights.
Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
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