Charter Communications has been offering free Spectrum internet to eligible, low-income households with students since the COVID-19 pandemic forced school districts to switch to remote learning. The free services were initially only expected to last 60 days, but officials with Spectrum said they will continue to offer the program.
Mike Pedelty, senior director of field communications at Charter, said due to the ongoing financial hardships that have affected many of Spectrum’s customers, the company extended its 60-day program through the end of June. Even though the program will be offered through the end of June, it is still a 60-day program.
“We encourage people to call us, and we’ll try to find a program that works best for them,” he said. “With this [COVID-19] challenge that we have, we’re opening some of our programs to the general public.”
Spectrum has been providing hotspots for cities like Owensboro, offering free WiFi across an expanded number of locations in the area.
“Generally, it’s for our customers or customers of a specific store [such as a restaurant],” he said. “We will evaluate the program on an ongoing basis. Hopefully, soon, we won’t need it.”
Another program offered by Spectrum right now protects eligible customers from having their internet service disconnected. Customers experiencing financial hardships should contact Spectrum to make those issues known and avoid having their service disconnected.
“If you pay your bill regularly, and you suddenly can’t, we see something’s happening,” Pedelty said. “You don’t have to give us proof [of your negative financial impact].”
However, customers who have a habit of paying their Spectrum bills late may not qualify. More information about this program, run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), can be found here.
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